A Better Chance
by soozin
Summary: Regulus Black is given the choice to return to life in order to help give Harry a better chance at life and hopefully save the world. Buffy is found much earlier, but not by the Watcher's Council. Mary Winchester explains her world to John, and he has help raising the boys when the time comes. AU with Dumbledore and Wizarding World bashing. Supernatural timeline is adjusted
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Everything you recognize belongs to either JK Rowling, Joss Whedon, or Eric Kripke.**

In the relative safety of the shadows, the three beings watched as the curse rebounded from the fifteen-month old child and hit the demon that had cast it. The three knew that the small one risked being inflected by the piece of soul that the demon had severed with the murder of the child's mother and they knew they had moments to act. The three began chanting quietly to call forth the other pieces of the demon's soul. The two pieces currently present were quickly contained and soon five other pieces appeared in the room. The chant increased in pace as the pieces reformed into a single soul. Once the soul was intact, the three changed the chant and began the ritual to banish the soul forevermore. After what seemed hours for the three, but was in reality only minutes, the smallest of the three rose and began tending to the small child. The largest quickly left the room, returning moments later with a man bound and gagged. The three stood, patiently waiting as they heard an approaching engine.

The three heard a call of "James! Lily! Harry!" from below. The largest of the three positioned himself between the door of the nursey and the small child that was now being held by the middle sized member of the group. He quickly used a ceremonial dagger to cut the small child's right index finger and allowed three drops of blood to fall upon the parchment that the three had prepared earlier. A family tree began to form upon the parchment and had almost been completed when the man who had entered the cottage arrived in the nursery.

"Hello brother," the largest of the three stated as the man entered the room.

"I thought you were dead. What are you doing to Harry? Give him to me! I have to get him to safety and find Peter. If You-Know-Who has been here, Peter either betrayed us or he is in trouble."

"Sirius, Peter betrayed you. I have him here. Calm down. We are almost finished," the member of the three stated.

He glanced at the middle sized man and received a nod. He nodded in return and held his hand for the parchment. Looking over the parchment, he cast several duplication spells and returned the parchment to the other man. The man nodded again from the shadows and disappeared.

"Brother, we must act quickly before the others arrive. Peter must go to the DMLE or you will be thrown in Azkaban to rot. Come quickly. Crouch hates you for being a Black and me for being a supposed Death Eater. There are others that need saving tonight and over the next few days. Are you still seeing Amelia Bones? We can go to her and she will make sure no one interferes as they did before. We will then return home and all will be explained to you. But first, your name must be cleared or Dumbles will get his way." He turned to the small member of the three and stated, "Dobby, take Harry to Black Hall and inform Grandfather that we shall arrive soon. Also inform him that Griphook will be along soon." The small man disappeared with the child.

"Do you swear that you will protect Harry, Reggie? He is all that matters. If all goes to shit, he needs to be told the truth. He needs to be told about his father. He is James' Heir, and mine too, but he needs to be told of Severus, and Severus needs his memories back. Make sure that he is presented to Grandfather and Lord Prince to be accepted as Heir."

"I swear it, brother. I swear that Harry, Lord Potter, Heir to House Black, Heir Apparent to House Prince, Heir to House Slytherin, Heir to House Gryffindor, and Heir to House of Pervell will be protected to the best of mine ability. I shall also name him as my Heir as soon as we get to Grandfather. Now let us go."

The brothers grabbed Peter each by an arm and placed a hand on the portkey that Regulus provided. They reappeared in the office of Amelia Bones, Head Auror. The time was 8:52 pm on October 31st, 1981. Sirius spent the next two hours explaining that Peter was the secret keeper for the Potters and that Dumbledore had cast the charm. Regulus explained that since he had been under the Imperious Curse when he was marked, the mark faded as he fought the curse off. He explained that Severus Snape was a victim of the same. Those who willingly took the mark would be slowly drained of their magic for wards that the Demon that possessed Tom Riddle had placed until they eventually died. Because Riddle had accepted the possession, he had not been able to be saved by the ritual he and the others performed to banish the soul of the Demon. They finished the discussion with Sirius claiming his rights to his godson and receiving custody papers.

The brothers arrived at Black Hall shortly after dawn to find their grandfather seated at the dining table with a house elf and goblin, holding a giggling and squirming Harry. Sirius stopped in the doorway at the sight. With a slight push, Regulus was able to prod his older brother back into motion and they joined their grandfather at the table.

"Grandfather," Sirius began only to be cut off by the man.

"You will listen to your brother's story before we begin. Once we both know the entire truth, we will plan and as a family, House Black will begin to act. You have lost much last night, but if you agree, you will regain your family and its allies. House Black will aid in the return of the old ways to save the Wizarding World." Arcturus Black summoned a light breakfast with finger foods for Harry and coffee rather than tea for the men. He waved Dobby away when he offered to take Harry.

"I ask that once I begin you hold you questions until the end. The story will progress much faster that way." Regulus waited until the others agreed before beginning. "The three of us have been given a chance to right a horrible wrong that has been done to this child in the name of the Greater Good. If things progress in the way that did previously, the Wizarding World will be destroyed just after the turn of the century. Tom Riddle will be destroyed, but Harry will not understand the larger threat to our world and will unknowingly lead to the destruction. After the death of Riddle, Harry will, thinking he is doing the right thing, follow in the unknown dark wizard's footsteps and destroy our traditions and with them the protections that keep us safe. His actions in destroying Riddle will bring the attention of the Queen and she shall decide that we are a threat and respond as such. Fifteen years after the death of Riddle, the Queen has finished her research and in 48 hours from beginning to end, the non-magical world will have utterly and completely destroyed the magical world. Those who do survive, are enslaved. Within ten more years, all magical creatures are destroyed, and in ten more all magical births have stopped. The last magical person is Harry and he dies in 2032 and with him all hope for us dies as well. Shortly after Harry's death, the non-magical world falls to Demons and humankind is destroyed. How do I know? I was killed in 1979, Dobby died in 1996 while aiding Harry, and Griphook died in 2022. The three of us have been harmed by House Black and we ask aid of the Head of House Black in righting a great wrong. Mother forced me to join Voldemort, Dobby was abused by the Malfoys and then killed by Bella, and Griphook was betrayed by Bella and Cissy which lead to his death.

"We have been tasked by the Powers That Be to help right this wrong. Our task is to teach Harry to think for himself and protect him from those that will harm him. He must be able to avoid the manipulations of the dark wizard that he is to defeat. We have already begun our task by destroying the soul of the Demon that possessed, with the aid of the dark wizard from the Prophesy, Tom Riddle. Unfortunately, Tom was lost, but Harry will no longer have to destroy a Demon and a dark wizard.

"The Prophesy actually states 'The one with the power to destroy the Dark One who hides in the Light approaches. Born of the Father that has defied the Demon trice, claimed by the Father that defied the Demon trice, protected by the Mother who bound the three. If the Dark One is destroyed by this child, Peace and Harmony will reign, but if the Dark One succeeds, the World will end. The Heir of the Loyal will call him friend and the Heir of the Wise will call him Mate. The Slayer will protect him and He shall protect her. The sons of the Hunter will play their part, but the Child and the Slayer will save them. The Mouth of Hell unites the three while the Halls of Magic unites the three and the One unspoken of both worlds combines them all.'

Regulus paused in his tale listening. "Grandfather, check the wards. Someone is coming."

Lord Black rose to meet the Aurors and the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Bartemus Crouch as they entered the Receiving Room. He exchanged pleasantries with the gentlemen before taking his seat and asking how he could be of assistance.

"We are here in our official capacity to arrest Sirius Black for aiding You-Know-Who in the destruction and murder of the House Potter. He is also charged with the kidnapping and attempted murder of one Harry Potter. You will turn him over to our custody immediately and aid in the return of Mr. Potter to his rightful guardian, Albus Dumbledore," said Crouch full of importance.

"Mr. Crouch, I believe that your information is incorrect. Sirius Black is sworn godfather to _Lord_ Potter. Lord Potter is the Heir to several Most Ancient and Most Noble Houses and the Law requires that he be raised in a household of a Most Ancient and Most Noble House. House Dumbledore is neither Ancient or Noble must less Most Ancient and Most Noble. That man has no claim to my Heir. Yes, Crouch, my Heir. The only worthy Black who is eligible to become Head when I pass is Lord Potter, descendent of Dorea Black Potter who was my favorite cousin and her grandson is not only my Heir, but the Heir of Sirius and of Regulus. I also have custody papers giving custody of Lord Potter to Sirius and also a copy of the arrest report and confession of Peter Pettigrew. If you talked to the others in your department before coming here to make a fool of yourself, you would know better. Unless you have evidence, you and yours should leave. I will be bringing this before the Minister and the Wizengamot. Now get out before I put you out. By force."

The owls flew from Black Hall very shortly after the Aurors left. Arcturus Black would now begin repairing the damage to House Black rather than sitting back and allowing it to be destroyed by the more radical members of the family. He would regret giving Orion and Walburga permission to marry if it had not given him Sirius and Regulus and through them, little Harry. He had called all of the living Blacks by birth but for this first meeting, he excluded the Weasley, Longbottom, Prewett, and Crouch children beyond the first generation. They would all arrive for lunch, and Arcturus would lay down the law after he fed them. Many would no longer be Blacks when he was finished. He hoped that he would end the day with more family than he began it with.

Promptly at noon, his guest began to arrive. He asked Regulus to keep Harry in the sitting room off the formal dining room until he was summoned. He hoped to have everyone under control before exposing little Harry to the remaining Blacks. Once the last of the group arrived, Black Hall was sealed until the business of House Black was completed. Family magic would ensure that none would be harmed without his say. He asked his guest to be seated and summoned Regulus and Harry to join.

"We will eat our meal, then Family business will be discussed. Peace will be held until I am finished. If you cannot, you will not only be ejected from the Hall, but also from the family. Please help yourselves."

The meal was quiet with glances towards Regulus, Sirius, Arcturus, and the child they doted on. During the meal, little Harry saw little Draco. He managed to squirm from Sirius' lap and make his way to the other small child.

"Hi! I Hawwy! Play wif me?"

"Malfoy children do not play, nor do they associate with those who are not of pure blood," drawled Lucius Malfoy.

"Malfoy, this is your warning. You are here because my niece cares for you, no other reason. I will react with force if you insult my guest again. Now sit down and shut up. Narcissa, if the children wish to play, allow them to play. They are not yet two and still innocent," Arcturus spoke with his power pulsing. Not a person in the room doubted the reason that he was the Black. Narcissa quickly placed her child on the floor and lightly pushed him towards the other child. Harry grabbed the boy's hand and led him away from the mean man back towards his Padfoot and Uncle Reggie.

When the adults completed their meal, elves cleared the remains and Arcturus called the family meeting to order.

"I call this meeting to right various misconceptions that have occurred in the younger generations of House Black. You will all be given a choice as to your continued membership in House Black after I am finished with the explanation. _Toujour Pur,_ Always Pure does not have anything to do with blood status, you idiots. It means that we are true to the old ways and our family. House Black comes first. House Black has always followed the old ways. That is until my grandmother began influencing the Black of that time, Phineas Nigellus. The influence of the Flint family caused us to fail to remain pure. I am correcting this. Cedrella Black Weasley you and your descendants are returned to House Black. Andromeda Black Tonks you and your daughter Nymphadora Tonks are returned to House Black. Theodore Tonks, as you have no House in the Wizard's world, I make you a son of House Black, as the old ways dictate. If you accept, you and your family will be formally known as Tonks-Black. I have no need to return Sirius to House Black because while Orion was my Heir, Walburga was not and has not the power to remove anyone from House Black. I also reinstate Marius Black to House Black. Squibs are furthermore included in House Black and unless they break our laws they cannot be banished for simply being born without access to magic. The children of two squibs can have a magical child and those children can bring honor to House Black.

"Now to those who have dishonored House Black. Walburga Black, Bellatrix Black Lestrange, and Narcissa Black Malfoy come stand before your Head of House and attempt to explain your dishonor.

"Walburga, you have exercised power that is not yours. You have abused both of your children. You attempted to disown Sirius and banish him from House Black for "running away" from the family. But, stupid cow, he ran to family. He ran to your aunt Dorea Black Potter who was a member of House Black and more of a Black than you are. You forced, by way of Imperious, Regulus to be marked by a madman. Can you explain?"

"He was a willful child who was sorted into Gryffindor. He became friends with a Potter and a half blood, Lupin. I never abused my children, definitely not my poor dead Regulus."

"I have always felt that you were more Crabbe than Black, but this proves it. Regulus is not dead. He is seated with Sirius and the small ones. Since you have no reason for your abuse and dishonor, you are removed from House Black. You will be given 2000 Galleons to cover any personal belongings located at Black Manor. You are banned from any Black properties and are no longer entitled to the name Black. The Black has spoken, so mote it be." Walburga was magically ejected from Black Hall with all of her memories of the locations of Black properties removed.

"Bellatrix, you followed a half blood maniac and allowed a mark of slavery to be branded onto your person. You and your husband have broken the marriage contract between House Black and House Lestrange in several ways. Can you explain your dishonor?"

"Lord Black, I have no remembrance of how I came to be marked. I have tried to conceive a child since my wedding to no luck. There is no affection for my husband or life, and I ask to be returned to House Black."

"Andromeda, could you check Bellatrix for compulsions and potions. I feel that she may be currently protected by family magic. Her personality changed after her wedding and now she is closer to the child I remember. After you have your results, I will make my decision.

"Narcissa, you have caused the least amount of dishonor of the three, but it has still happened. You have allowed yourself to be linked to a madman with delusions of grandeur. Your husband is a marked Death Eater. You have also broken the marriage contract between House Black and House Malfoy. House Black required two children to be born in the first six years of marriage, yet only little Draco has been born in eight years. Your excuses?"

"My husband was pushed into service by his father. His mark is forced and reinforced by Abraxas. While we have not had problems conceiving, I have only been able to carry Draco to survival. I love my husband and he loves me in his own way. Lucius will swear loyalty to House Black if you can find it in your heart to allow the marriage to stand."

"Join your sisters. Have Andromeda check you after she is finished with Bellatrix. Lucius, are you willing to do as Narcissa asks? Will you swear loyalty to House Black and its Heir?"

"I will do what is needed to protect my wife and child."

"Swear to be loyal to House Black, its Lord, the Black, and its Heir. Aid in returning the Wizarding World to the old ways. Promise to follow the old ways from this day forward. Do these things and House Black will, in return, allow the marriage to remain and provide protection to you, your wife, and any children born from the two of you."

"I, Lucius Abraxas Malfoy, swear loyalty to House Black, Lord Black, and his Heir. I swear to protect all members of House Black. I swear to follow the old ways that I currently know and to learn and follow any that I am lacking knowledge of once I am informed of them. I swear to do all in my power to return our world to the old ways. So I say, so mote it be."

Those gathered in the room watched as a glow enveloped Lucius then settled into his magic itself. Harry and Draco ran to the man, smiling. Little Harry smiled up at the man and grabbed his arm directly over his mark.

"NO! You bad, leave Unca Luc alone. He mine and Drake's, not yours. Stop it! NOW!" The child seemed to be arguing with Lucius arm. As he screamed now, a tendril of black smoke rose from Lucius' arm. Lucius fell to his knees in a scream. Harry pulled Lucius' sleeve up and placed his hands on his arm. "Unca, you not belong to the bad man anymore. Dumb door not hurt you anymore, I promise. I fix it."

Lucius looked at his arm seeing unmarked skin again. "Dumb door, huh?" Lucius asked the small child.

"We have much more to discuss once the ladies join us," Arcturus smoothly replied.

"Lord Black, Bellatrix shows signs of being under loyalty potions, fertility potions keyed to Tom Riddle, and ongoing Imperious curses. When you sealed Black Hall, the curses and potions began being purged. I have given her a purge potion to aid in finishing the job. Narcissa has been cursed to only be able to carry male children. Because of the curse, all of her children will be born early. If we can find a curse breaker who we can trust, she will be fine," Andromeda explained to The Black.

Arcturus looked over the family seated before him. He had much to do before he was finished. He would restore the honor of House Black.

"I declare the marriage of Bellatrix Lestrange nee Black annulled. I recall the entire dowry plus interest due to the breaking of the marriage contract. I further declare a blood feud between House Black and House Lestrange due to the treatment of our daughter. So mote it be.

"I declare blood feud against Abraxas Malfoy due to his treatment of a daughter of House Black. The marriage contract will remain valid because the breaking is through no fault of Lucius or Narcissa. Draco Lucius Black Malfoy will be trained beside Heir Black in the old ways. Lucius will be educated in the old ways to aid in his sworn duty. So mote it be.

"I declare Harridan Severus James Potter Prince, Lord Potter, Heir Pervell, Heir Slytherin, Heir Gryffindor, Heir Black, Heir Prince to be protected and educated by Sirius Black, Regulus Black, and Bellatrix Black. Lucius, Narcissa, and little Draco may join them. Others will be offered the honor and I hope that at least two small families will join them in their endeavors. House Black will work within the Ministry for Magic to bring the old ways back. So mote it be.

"Lucius, if you will be so kind to retrieve Severus Snape and bring him before us. Lord Prince should be arriving for tea in an hour, and I wish Severus to join us beforehand."

"Of course, Lord Black. I shall return with him directly if you will allow it," Lucius answered.

When Arcturus waved, Lucius hurried through the Floo to retrieve Severus.

"Algernon Longbottom, tell us of young Neville. Do you think he will be a suitable playmate for young Harry and Draco?" Arcturus asked with a smirk. He knew that Algernon was unhappy with young Neville's birth because it pushed him further from becoming Lord Longbottom.

"He has little to no magic. I hope that Frank will realize this soon and name me Heir rather than the brat. Mother is most displeased with Frank's choice of wife and the shame that it has brought our House," Algernon replied smugly.

When Algernon finished his rant, Sirius punched him. "You are not worth the effort it would take to pull my wand. Grandfather, Frank and Alice are not here due to being in hiding. May I make them the offer of going with us and Harry?"

"Yes, Sirius. Make the offer once we have finished here. James and Lily were young Neville's godparents, correct? And Alice is little Harry's godmother?" Sirius nodded yes to both questions. "Go during tea with Lord Prince and make the offer then."

"Thank you, Grandfather."

The Floo flared green again and Lucius exited. He was followed soon after by Severus Snape. Severus bowed low to Arcturus which he responded with a deep nod.

"Welcome to Black Hall. You have been called for House Black to repay a debt that we owe to you personally," Arcturus stated before turning to the others present and stating, "Please excuse us for a few moments."

Arcturus led Severus down the hallway to the family sitting room where Regulus and Harry waited. Sirius would join them after they had time to explain things to him. The plan was that Sirius would be restoring the removed memories at that time.

Harry looked up when they entered the room and squealed "Daddy! You came for Hawwy! Mummy said you would! I miss you!" Harry proceeded to grab Severus and attempt to climb him.

Harry managed to grab Severus over the location of the Dark Mark. "This my daddy, Dumb door! Get out of my daddy! He mine!" As Harry screamed at Severus' arm black smoke came from his arm as it had from Lucius' earlier. Severus lifted the small child into his arms and the child threw his arms around the man's neck.

Regulus shared the secret of Harry's history, how Harry was the son of Lily and Severus and how James married Lily to protect her and her unborn child. James blood adopted Harry and named him his Heir when they were in hiding. With the type of adoption done, Harry became the child of the three adults: Severus, James, and Lily. Sirius arrived and spoke the pass phrase to unlock Severus' memories. The three Blacks left the father and son alone to grieve their losses.

House Black accomplished much that day. Sirius managed to arrive at Longbottom Manor while they were being attacked by Barty Crouch, Jr. and the Lestrange Brothers. Sirius quickly killed the Lestrange brothers per the terms of the blood feud. He captured and restrained Crouch. When he checked on the others he found that Frank and his mother had been killed, but Alice and Neville had only been stunned. Once the Aurors had finished questioning them, he brought Neville and Alice to Black Hall.

Lord Prince fell to the pressure of Lord Black at tea and reinstated Severus Snape as rightful Heir, signed two documents, then passed the Lordship to Severus. The first document he signed made Severus, Lily, and James' relationship legitimate. The second document was a marriage contract between Harry and the newly born daughter of Xenophilius and Pandora Lovegood. Xeno, Pandora, and baby Luna arrived moments later to work out the details of visitation and custody. Harry would spend two weeks a year with the Lovegoods with Luna attending the same school as Harry as soon as she was old enough to attend. Pandora insisted that Luna be allowed to attend with any tutors as well. A promise ceremony would occur on Luna's second birthday.

House Black worked out plans to ensure that Harry learned all that was needed. The old ways were no longer followed in Magical Britain, so the children would be educated abroad. Bella and Reggie would be the primary caregivers of the children. Severus, Sirius, and Lucius would be given family portkeys to be seen in public in Magical Britain to keep suspiciousness away. House elves were sent to ready the Black vineyard house in California.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Hank and Joyce Summers paused in their argument when the doorbell to their small house in Los Angeles rang. Joyce calmed herself as she went to open the door.

"Mrs. Summers? I am Merrick. I have troubling news for you and your husband about your daughter." The man hurriedly explained before she could shut the door in his face.

"Are you from the hospital? Buffy is only a baby," Hank said quickly as he showed the man to the living room.

"There is a group called The Watcher's Council. I was a member until recently. Your daughter has the potential to become what we refer to as The Slayer. I was to be her Watcher, but the Council and I disagree with how they wish her to be treated. Buffy was to stay with you until she is older, but they have decided she is to be taken now and given to another Watcher. They have also decided to do the same with two others. I gathered two other Watchers that I trust to protect the children. We were too late with one girl, but have been able to rescue the other. I need to know if you are willing to accept our help." Merrick looked at the couple across from him, hoping that they would agree to his help.

Hank and Joyce excused themselves to have a moment to discuss what the man said. Hank wanted to give the child he never wanted to the people. Joyce refused to give up her little girl and told Hank to get out. Hank looked relieved.

"Mr. Merrick, Buffy and I will be coming with you if you will allow it. I will not give you my daughter, but I will allow you to protect us. Hank will not be joining us," Joyce said willing the tears to keep from falling.

"Gather what you need but don't worry about more than basic necessities. My companions and I have enough to cover us if needed."

Joyce quickly packed the things that she and Buffy would need right away. She told Hank that she would send for the rest of her things and would also send along divorce papers. Joyce would be selling the house as it was hers before they married. Her mother had insisted on the purchase for Joyce's eighteenth birthday, the year before she passed away from cancer.

When she looked back on the past two years with Hank, she knew that her parents had been right about him. Hank had been such a nice guy when they met at Stanford. Joyce was younger than the average student having graduated high school at sixteen and her grades had several excellent colleges fighting for her. She chose Stanford and by the time she was twenty she was well on her way to her Masters in Humanities, then she met him. It was a whirlwind romance which her father was against, but in the end agreed to allow the marriage to keep from losing his child. Joyce knew that family meant everything to her father because of the estrangement with his own family.

Her father had kept in touch with his younger sister in England and a cousin or two, but when the cousins both died, then his sister died unexpectedly and Marcus White lost connection with any other family that might be left to him. Joyce knew that she should call her father before she left to hide with Buffy and she was unable to contact him.

She dialed her father's number and waited for the phone to be answered.

"Daddy, I need help please," Joyce said through tears she could no longer hold back.

"What has the bastard done now, Joy? Never you mind, love, I am to be in California next week but I can change plans and be there in around seven hours or so," Marcus told his daughter.

Joyce asked her father to hold on and then asked Merrick where they would be the next day. He explained that they would be staying in Sunnydale at least until Buffy and Faith, the other girl they rescued, were old enough to begin school. When Merrick knew why she was asking, he handed her a slip of paper with an address and phone number. Joyce returned to her father on the phone.

"Daddy, Buffy and I are going to be in Sunnydale with some people who are going to help us. The man I met today says that Buffy is in danger from a group called the Watcher's Council. I am so scared, Daddy. Please hurry."

"Do you trust him," Marcus asked.

"For some reason, I do. Hank wants to give her away, Daddy, and I can't even think of it. I think Merrick is getting inpatient and wants to go. I will see you soon. Love you," Joyce told her father.

"Love you, too, love. I will be there soon."

Joyce hung up the phone and gathered the last of the essentials she and Buffy would need. She gathered her ten-month old daughter in her arms, giving her a small cuddle, before announcing that they were ready. Merrick made two trips to the car before lifting the car carrier that now held Buffy. Joyce took another look around before locking the door behind her.

Marcus White hurriedly packed his bags before calling for the plane to be readied. He called his other two daughters to tell them he would be one for about a month maybe longer. His relationship with Lolly and Arlene had never been as close as the one he had with Joyce. Of his three daughters, she reminded him the most of the family he had been forced to leave behind. Joyce looked and acted much the same as his younger sister Dorea, but she was missing the spark to wake her magic. Joyce had a magical core, but no connection to it, but her sisters were born non-magical. Marcus taught Joyce from the time he realized this fact to never speak of the strange things she could she but others could not.

He was not happy that the Watcher's Council was interfering with his granddaughter. He had known from the first time he held her that Buffy was magical, but how could she not be with her father from a Malfoy squib line and they being Blacks. Marcus had changed his name from Marius Black when he was disowned by the family, but he had not been able to give up correspondence with his little sister, Dorea. Arcturus had offered to bring him back into the family for Dorea's sake once he became The Black, when his father died in 1952, but Marcus had already begun building a life in America at that point and declined the offer. He had been back to England twice, once to bury Alphard and once to bury Dorea and Charlus. He would be returning as soon as he got Buffy and Joyce settled to now bury James and Lily. The funeral would be in Godric's Hollow on the 5th of November.

Marcus would once again portkey from Los Angeles to England. Dorea had claimed it would be easier for him to keep anyone looking away from his New York home by traveling from there. Luckily, this would be his last trip or he would have to obtain another route so he could protect Joyce and Buffy. Once Arcturus was gone, New York would be safe again because no one would be left to know where he was.

His driver carried his bags to the waiting car while he seated himself in the backseat. America was so different from England. If you had a magical core, or could access Earth magic, or even knew about the supernatural, you were considered magical with full rights. Marcus spent most of his ride to the airport deciding how much and what he would tell his daughter when he arrived the next day. The rest of the ride consisted of finding out all he could about the Watcher's Council and the people in charge. He would wait until he reached California to sick the hounds, or lawyers as they called themselves, on Hank. Hank Summers would be utterly destroyed because no one harmed the family and got away with it.

When they arrived at the house on Revello Drive, Joyce felt at home immediately. She looked at the three empty lots across the street and wondered if she would have enough from the sale of her little house to purchase them and build. She would wait until she knew the final plans and then ask her father's opinion before proceeding. She just did not want Merrick and the others to think she was a mooch.

Merrick showed Joyce to the room she would be sharing with Buffy and helped her to settle the baby in. He told her to get settled and refreshed then to join them in the living room to discuss the plan in more detail. Joyce splashed water on her face and quickly changed out of the crumpled clothing she had been wearing in the car. Checking on the sleeping Buffy once again, she left to meet with the others.

"Joyce, I would like to introduce you to my associates Rupert Giles and Diana Dormer. Diana will be Faith's Watcher if she is called as I hold that position for Buffy if necessary. Before we begin, what do you know of the supernatural world?" Merrick asked.

"My father knows much more than I, but I have always been able to see things that others cannot. When I was young, my father taught me not to talk about it because it upset Mom and my sisters. Daddy says he will be here tomorrow, but knowing him, he will be here before morning," Joyce replied.

"The short explanation is that monsters are real. Many are demons, but some are human and others are hybrids. The Slayer is the one girl in the world that has the power to defeat the monsters and protect the world. It is the job of the Watcher to train and protect the Slayer, watch her back. Over the years, Watchers have ignored their duty and no longer protect their charges. There are very few of us that still remember that our duty is to protect our charges even if it means dying for them. I can honestly say that the three of us would die to protect those girls.

"For now, we will stick with the basics of the plan and we can go into more detail when your father is here. Our plan is to lay low here until the girls are old enough for school. They will be enrolled at the Redwood Academy of Magic which is about thirty minutes from here. They will accept the girls as from a family of Hunters if they have no magical aptitude. If there is magical aptitude, they will be trained to their potential. The best scenario is for them to be full magical because that will take them from the Watcher's Council's purview, that is they may still be called, but the Watcher's Council cannot touch them." Merrick smiled smugly as he finished.

"Mrs. Summers," Giles took over. "If Buffy and Faith are the ones that we believe it is imperative that they survive. We selected Sunnydale because it sits upon the Hellmouth, a literal gateway to Hell. The girls cannot be found here by magical means. Most full magicals avoid this place and magical means of location do not work from outside. We believe that this is the safest place for them other than the Wizarding World which we will have limited access to without a full magical to introduce us until the girls begin school at five."

"You have given me lots to think about, but I need to rest after the trying day we have had. Buffy is normally awake by 6 am so if you will excuse me, I will retire for the evening. Thank you for helping us," Joyce stated as she left for her room.

Marcus found the house the next morning with little problem. He sat in the rental car stilling his thoughts and preparing himself for whatever may come. Marcus had learned over the past fifty-three years that although he could not perform wanded magics, he could perform internal magics and some Earth magic as well. Marcus was beyond a Master level in all Mind magics and wards. He was prepared to wipe the minds of the people here if it was needed to protect his family. His biggest secret was one that included Joyce; they could both see and read auras.

Marcus finished organizing his thoughts and calmed himself as much as possible before removing a set of crystals and chanting below his breath. Once finished, he gazed around him and made note of the magical auras within sight. His sight was increased to a six block radius and he noted only two malevolent signatures, both at the edge of his vision. There were several Earth magic practitioners with only one being strong enough for any concern. He studied the house for a few moments noting that of the six inside, three were wand capable, two were experienced Earth magic practitioners, and then Joyce. She was capable, but due to him, untrained. With no sign of malevolence, he exited the rental and approached the house.

Marcus was greeted by an older man, close to his age but he looked it where Marcus did not. He was shown into the house without being invited in. Introductions were made and after a few cuddles with Buffy, he placed her with the other young girl in a playpen. Both girls were giggling and playing when he turned his attention to the adults.

"How serious is this threat? I know that magicals are protected from the Watcher's Council, but it seems to me that these two girls are being targeted prior to being proven as magical, then they can make them disappear. I have people I can contact to bring them down if necessary. I will protect my family!" Marcus huffed once the meeting started. "American schools begin at five years old so we only have a little over four to hide them. What if we hide them in the Wizarding World?"

"Do you have contacts?" Merrick asked attempting to keep the joy from his voice.

"I have been away for fifty-three years, but I do. If I am correct, so does Mr. Giles," Marcus responded.

"In my youth, I made mistakes. A group of us summoned a demon and of the seven of us, only two survived. My wand was broken and I was banished from that world. My father, rather than disowning me, forced me into the Watcher's Council, Records Department. When I found the corruption in the Council, I began researching the Watchers that would be gaining potentials soon," Giles began. "I am unsure if you what you know of your birth family, but both Buffy and Faith are from the Black Family. Faith is illegitimate and…"

"Buffy is descended from squib lines of both House Black and House Malfoy," Marcus said as he cut him off.

With this opening, Marcus explained his history. He explained how he was disowned and expelled from his birth family. He also told how he stayed in contact with his little sister and her family as well as one cousin. He told of the death of his nephew and his wife with the funeral in three days. He told all that he knew of the world he had only visited three times since he had been sent away.

After Marcus finished his tale, he and the other adults began to make new plans. Joyce and the girls would go with him to England, not only for the funeral, but to feel out House Black. Arcturus had offered once before to bring him back into the family, but this time, if he got another chance, he would take it. If possible, he would have Joyce, Buffy, and Faith acknowledged, too. They would need all of the help they could get.

Regulus arrived under a disillusionment spell shortly after Marcus. He waited while listening, ready t step in if any of the plans would endanger his charges. As he listened, he filed away the additional facts that would help him. He held himself when it was revealed that Faith was a Black. He knew that he would need blood from both babies to be able to confirm their claims, but when he heard that Marcus would be travelling to England with the children for the funeral of the Potters. These matters could wait. He had one more task to accomplish before he could return to England and the little boy that had come to mean so much to him in such a short amount of time.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

John and Mary Winchester sat on the deck behind their house in deep discussion concerning the changes that would occur in the next two years. John was amazed that it was all real. After Sam was born, Mary began having visions. Her visions showed her death in the next few days and no way around it. They also showed that John would not be able to care for the children if he did not know the truth. John and Mary had spent the last six months making and remaking plans. Mary taught John as much as she could about the world she had escaped along with the supernatural world. She spent her spare time collecting books that would help John in his need for revenge, but made sure that he understood that not all magicals dealt with demons to gain their powers. She felt she had prepared him as well as she could.

Mary had arranged for her friend Bobby to help John with the kids until they were school age. They were already enrolled at Redwood Academy and would be taken regardless of magical status. That was the best thing about America, the lack of blood prejudice. Mary had vials of memories for Sam and Dean to watch once they were older and showed John how to work her pensieve. She knew that she had prepared her family as well as she could.

When Sam had been three months old, she took John to Los Angeles to show him how to access the magical world. She led him to the small alley just outside of Chinatown that housed The Cloaked Wand, an English style pub that could only be seen by those who know of the magical world. They spent the weekend in the alley that opened behind the pub and John's knowledge grew greatly. They took a tour for prospective parents at the Redwood Academy, which left John hoping to be able to take some of the adult classes offered once Sam and Dean were both enrolled. When they returned home, Mary felt that John would be much better equipped.

On November 2nd, 1981, exactly six months after the birth of their son Sam, Mary vision came true. John and Dean had gone to bed while Mary wanted to check on Sam once more before joining John. When she entered the room, there was a man with yellow eyes standing over her youngest son. Mary began chanting an ancient ritual to protect her son from the demon. Mary knew that she would die, but she was determined to protect her baby at all costs. Sam began to scream as the demon touched him which fueled Mary's determination further. She reached into the pocket of her dressing gown and removed a vial containing holy water and hurled it at the demon, making him react rather than continue tormenting little Sam. With the demon's attention focused on her, she ran towards him now screaming her chant. Just before she reached him, time seemed to stop.

"Mary Winchester," a male voice called. Before her two ghosts appeared, a man and a woman appearing to be in their early twenties, him with dark hair and glasses, her with bright red hair and brilliant green eyes. "We have not the power to stop this completely, but we can shield young Samuel from the effects the demon intends. He is a child of prophesy and connected to our own child. The Powers that Be have given us the right to aid in this. We can offer some protection, not only to little Samuel, but also to Dean and a small amount to John, but the cost is great. You must give your life to protect those you love. In addition to the protection, you will be able to visit each of them three times over the span of their lives. Do you accept?"

"Mary Winchester," the woman picked up where the man left off, "this will protect them all from those who will arrive soon to remove their memories. Without this protection all of the plans that you and John have laid will crumble simply because John will not remember them. Dean and Sam will still become great Hunters, but they will not understand that all magic is not evil. The three of them will only know the demonic part of the magical world and that will be a sad thing. War will destroy the world because your boys will not be who they need to be. Time is short, how do you choose?"

"There is no choice, I accept."

Time returned to normal. Mary glanced around the room and saw John and Dean standing in the doorway. Mary mouthed "I love you" to her husband and flung herself at the demon. Dean ran into the room and grabbed his baby brother before running back to his father. Mary was flung away by the demon but grabbed him again. Only she could see the ghost attacking at the same time. As Mary and the ghost held tight to the demon, a black smoke left the body. The ghosts grabbed the smoke and contained it. The woman smiled at Mary and told her that she would have a few minutes to say goodbye, then disappeared.

John ran to his wife as she collapsed. He gathered her in his arms and motioned for Dean to come and bring Sam. Mary told her family how much she loved them and how they were so very worth it before closing her eyes one last time. Mary Winchester died with a smile on her face surrounded by the men she loved.

John sat on the floor in Sam's room holding the body of his wife while he and Dean cried. Sam was too young to understand what happened, but soon his whimpers joint those of his brother and father. They sat that way for ten minutes before John heard three pops.

'Dean, listen carefully. Hide in my closet with your brother. If anyone, even me, comes for you, ask them something only you and I will know, like your teddy bear's name or Mommy's favorite color. Throw one of Mommy's vials at them even if they know the answer, just in case. If they are wounded by it, take your brother and run. Understand?"

"Yes, Daddy."

John slowly made his way downstairs. He found three men in robes standing at his open front door. It seemed that they could not enter the house. John watched from the stairwell as the men wave their wands at the doorway, looking more frustrated as time passed. He watched for several minutes before hearing another pop. This time it came from inside the house. John spotted the bat that Mary kept at the top of the stairs and grabbed it before going to investigate.

"John Winchester?" the intruder asked in an English accent.

"Who are you and what are you doing in my home?"

"Mr. Winchester, my name is Regulus Black. The sacrifice your wife made earlier has allowed me to claim you and your children as my charges. I work for the Powers That Be and I am here to help. Mary's choice allows me to be your sponsor of sorts when dealing with magicals since you and your boys have no House to offer protection. House Winchester will be added to the American Houses in honor of Mary's sacrifice, but for now House Black will be your voice. With your permission, I will deal with those outside, then I can answer many of the questions I am sure you and Dean have. I will be available to answer other questions you may have later as well."

"Okay," John said feeling overwhelmed.

"Collect the boys and wait here. I will be back soon."

"Explain to me why exactly you are attempting to break the wards and enter this house," Regulus stated as he watched the men.

"We are here to remove the memories of you and your sons of the demonic activity that occurred here. We are also taking the body of the woman killed," the first man stated smugly.

Rather than arguing with the man, Regulus pulled his wand and shot off a Patronus message. His smile turned smug when three additional pops announced the arrival of three others, including the Head of Magical Law Enforcement for the Midwest.

"Thank you for your prompt arrival. I am Regulus Arcturus Black of House Black. I would like to know why these three were attempting to break the wards here," Regulus stated with as much loathing as he could muster.

The three new arrivals paled as they realized the implications of those few words. While blood status meant next to nothing in America, many of the Houses had huge standing and House Black was one not crossed lightly. This could be disastrous for all of them.

"I am Alexandra Lansing, Head of the Midwest Division of Magical Law Enforcement. We received intelligence of demonic activity at this location within the last hour. A team was dispatched to deal with the demon and alter the memories of those not part of our world."

"I see. Did the wards around this house not indicate that the occupants were possibly aware of the magical? When I questioned the officers attempting to break the wards, not enter mind, but utterly destroy them, they announced the intent to remove my memories and those of two small children, which they referred to as mine and remove the body. One can only assume what would be said about the disappearance of Mrs. Winchester, who protected her family from the demon Azazel, and by doing so, removing him from this plane for at least ten years, but as many as fifty if we are lucky. She sacrificed herself and your people were going to harm the family she died to protect," Regulus ranted. He took a deep calming breath before continuing, "Know this, House Winchester is now allied to House Black. Any further attempts to cause harm to any member of this House will be met with deadly force. The Black is one who protects his allied Houses by any means necessary," Regulus firmly stated.

He nodded to the six and turn, leaving them with their mouths hanging open.

Regulus returned to find John and his boys waiting in the protected stairwell for him. He knew that Sam needed to be checked by a mediwitch as soon as was possible, but first he needed to gain the trust of his father. John Winchester was looking at him with clear conflict in his eyes. This would be difficult.

"John, did Mary still have family in America?" Regulus asked softly.

"Her parents died shortly after Dean was born and she was an only child. Why do you ask?"

"Did she ever tell you about her Aunt Melania? The one still in England?" John shook his head no. "Melania is my grandmother. When her mother passed away in 1925, her father remarried and had three sons. Mary's father was the youngest, born in 1937 I believe. He suffered a childhood disease that affected his magic and when the war broke out in the 40s, Grandmother made sure he was sent to America so he would be safe. I suggest that we, you, me and the boys, take Mary's body to England for burial. I would feel much better about the safety of her remains there."

"Why? What would anyone want with her body?" John asked, skeptical.

"She aided in the banishment of a high demon, some say the first true demon. Her body could be used to lift the banishment or to locate Sam. When the community finds out that Azazel was after Sam when he was banished, they will come after him to see why he is so special. Grandfather can help and Grandmother would love to meet your sons as well as you."

"You are worried that they will come back. Those people who wanted to take my memories," John growled.

"Yes I am. I told them that House Winchester was allied to House Black. We need to make that official as soon as possible. I would like to leave tonight."

"This will make the boys safe?" Regulus nodded yes. "Dean watch your brother while I gather our things together. We are going to England."

Regulus stepped outside while John packed. He pulled a small mirror from his pocket and stated "Sirius Black".

"Hey Reggie. How's it going? Harry has been asking for you."

"I have finished my tasks for now. Tell Grandfather that I have offered allegiance to a new American House and it has been accepted. He can yell at me later, but it must be done. The head of house and his children will be returning with me tonight. We need to arrange for his wife to be buried with her family to keep the remains safe."

"Shit, Reggie. Do we know them?"

"She is Grandmother's niece. The oldest boy will be starting at Redwood in the fall, but the youngest is only six months old. She banished Azazel when he attacked the baby. I felt James and Lily's presence all through the house. I think they helped. Fill our grandparents in and have a couple of rooms prepared. Oh, by the way, Marius is coming home and bringing three more Blacks with."

"So he got Grandfather's owl?"

"No, it is his idea. Marius needs help protecting his family, and Grandfather is going to give him that help. He was already coming for the funeral, but when this came up, he changed his plans to bring them as well. He should be there tomorrow or the next day."

"I will pass it along. See you soon."

Regulus returned to the living room and made himself comfortable. Unlike most purebloods in his position, Regulus had spent enough time in America to be at ease in the normal world. Grandfather had ensured that he had known his role as a pureblooded second son who followed the old ways. His responsibility was to the muggleborns that his family would foster. Imagine his horror when he fought off his mother's curse to discover that he had become a Death Eater. He was pulled from his musings by the sound of footsteps coming from the stairs.

"Are we ready?" Regulus asked looking over the bags in the foyer.

"I just need to call Bobby and tell him what happened and that we will be gone for a while," John replied.

John stepped out of the room to make his call while Regulus began shrinking luggage and preparing his portkey to carry four. He shrouded Mary and placed another family portkey upon her body before activating it. She would appear in the basement of Black Hall. After the bags were shrunk and placed in his pockets, Regulus explained the portkey to Dean, insuring that he knew not to let go. When John returned, he explained to him as well.

"Remember, do not let go. With your permission, I will hold Sam and John make sure you have a firm grip on Dean. International portkey travel is a bit bumpy but it is much faster than conventional travel. Everyone ready?" Regulus paused to look at the others for conformation. "On three. One, two, three."

The two adults and two children vanished.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

The introduction of Harry, Draco, and Neville to Dean and Sam was relatively uneventful. Draco was awed by baby Sam while Dean, Harry, and Neville bonded over the loss of a parent, or in Harry's case, two of his three. Arcturus was thrilled with the new additions, while Melania led John to her private sitting room to speak about Mary and make arrangements for her burial. The children were fed a light lunch before being put down for naps, or in Dean's case to finally sleep for the night. Dean would be awoken after a few hours to help him adjust to the time change.

Just before 4 pm Alice and Sirius gathered the children and dressed them for the meeting scheduled to begin in a few minutes. They herded the children into the bathroom to wash up and use the facilities. Alice enlarged a set of nice robes to fit Dean, then helped him to dress. Once everyone was acceptable, they led the children to the anteroom off of the main dining room. Sam would be left under the care of Kreacher while the others attended the ceremony.

"Okay kids. This is going to be formal and boring, but you all need to pay attention, especially to the meaning behind the ceremony. Each of the four of you will be head of your family one day. Harry and Neville will become heads at seventeen. Don't worry if you don't understand something right away. Bella and I will teach you what you need to know. Remember to keep quiet and we will answer any questions once it is over. Alice will stand with the four of you near the back. Any questions before we enter?" Sirius asked.

When they shook their heads no, Sirius opened the door and everyone took their places. Alice conjured four small chairs for the boys and silently took her place behind them. The large table had been removed and replaced by chairs facing a platform at the front of the room. A large ornate chair sat on the platform containing Arcturus with his face blank. Once everyone was gathered, Arcturus stood.

"With the return of the Most Noble and Most Ancient House Black to the old ways, we are gathered today to make new and renew alliances. The Most Noble and Most Ancient House Potter and the Noble and Most Ancient House Longbottom have Heads of House that are minor children. House Black accepts both as wards, to be raise according to law in a House at least equal to their stature. Lady Longbottom, do you accept on behalf of your son, young Lord Longbottom?"

"I graciously accept, Lord Black," Alice stated shyly.

"Lord Prince, I show no disrespect by this offer, but do you accept on behalf of your son Lord Potter, due to his status as Lord Potter, and Heir Black?"

"No disrespect is taken, Lord Black, and I graciously accept this honor," Severus replied.

"House Black also offers an alliance with the Noble and Most Ancient House Prince. Your enemies will be our enemies as our will become yours," Arcturus stated firmly.

"I, Severus Tobias Snape, Lord Prince of the Noble and Most Ancient House Prince, accept alliance with House Black. May our Heir be bountiful and our Houses last forever."

"House Black upholds the blood feud with Abraxas Malfoy, Lord Malfoy of the Noble and Most Ancient House Malfoy. This blood feud does not include his child, Lucius, who from this day until the death of Abraxas will have the protection of House Black as a son of the House. Lucius Malfoy, do you accept?"

"Lord Black, I am honored. May your Heir be bountiful and your House last forever," Lucius replied.

"House Black offers alliance and mentorship to the new House Winchester. House Winchester has been acknowledged in America due to the sacrifice given by Mary Winchester nee McMillan in her banishment of the demon Azazel. House Black intends to gain acknowledgement of House Winchester as a Noble House in the Wizengamot as their right under the old ways. House Black is willing to fight to gain the recognition rightly due them. John Winchester, House Winchester, soon to be Lord Winchester, do you accept?"

"I, John Winchester, gratefully accept your advice, assistance, and mentorship on behalf of myself and my boys," John said awkwardly.

"Is there any other business to be brought before The Black?"

At this point, two men, a woman, and two babies were escorted into the room by a house elf. One of the men dropped to his knee before Arcturus and bowed his head. Arcturus' eyes widened slightly before he could fully conceal his reaction. The other two adults in the group bowed and curtsied to Lord Black, but nowhere near as deeply.

"Rise and state your business with House Black."

"I, Marius Lennox Black, ask for the protection of House Black for my daughter and granddaughter and another daughter of House Black, if not by conventional means. We ask for shelter from oncoming danger and for the two children to be acknowledged as members for their protection."

"Who threatens harm to daughters of House Black?" The fury in Arcturus' voice was nothing compared to the magic rolling off him in waves. Sirius and then Regulus had explained the situation with the girls, but this sounded as if Marius was asking for the girls to be made wards of House Black. For Marius to ask this, things were much worse than they appeared. Arcturus began again before giving the man time to respond, "I declare Marius Lennox Black, also known as Marcus White, returned to House Black. His three daughters are also acknowledged as members of House Black. This includes any children already born and any future children. The other child in question will be accepted into House Black unless it is proven beyond all doubt that she is not of Black blood. So mote it be."

"Now we shall adjourn to the family dining room and feast. Once fed, the children will be settled and then we adults shall discuss matters further."

Dobby had been quite busy since his return. Once insuring that little Master Harry Potter Sir was safely within Black Hall, he sat out to locate the version of himself that existed in this timeline. Until he and Griphook could integrate themselves with this version of themselves this would exist as only a possibility rather than the permanent timeline. Dobby knew that until this task was completed, his Master Harry Potter Sir could be harmed by his counterpart as had happened in his previous life. Bad Master Abraxas had forced Dobby to use his elf magics to harm his Master Harry Potter Sir when he was just a baby by giving bad dreams and making the evil Dursley family treat Master as a house elf. Dobby knew that his magic would not have worked with the Dursley family if they had any amount of care for the small baby, but he knew the treatment would have been better if not for his tampering on the orders of his Bad Master.

Dobby hid in the shadows of Malfoy Manor until he was able to get himself alone. Once alone, he appeared before himself. If his other self allowed it, they would merger. If his other self fought it, Dobby was prepared to do what was needed to force the merge. He spoke to his wide eyed counterpart.

"Is yous being happy as a Malfoy elf? This Dobby never was. I can free you if yous wants. You can be part of me again and we will serve Master Harry Potter Sir from now on. You wants?"

The other Dobby sprung forward and grabbed him in a hug. The moment that the two touched, a glow surrounded them and then they were one again. Immediately, Dobby popped to Abraxas, filled with fury over the amount of abuse that he had forgotten until he joined with his other self. When he appeared, Dobby no longer appeared to be a house elf, but appeared in his true form, a High Elf.

"Abraxas Malfoy, you are accused of many things, but I call upon Magic herself to judge you for the kidnapping, torture, and abuse of a citizen of the High Realm known as Dobbyn. If Magic finds you guilty, may the gods have mercy on you, for She will not." Once Dobby finished the glow of Magic brightened around Abraxas. Within minutes, Abraxas Malfoy was dead.

Griphook's joining with his counterpart was tame in comparison. He entered Gringott's London with the results of the blood test he had performed on Harridan Potter and was quickly escorted to the Head's Office. Griphook spent the rest of the night and the majority of the following day explaining to the leaders of the Goblin Nation how he had returned to this point in time to be able to stop the ending of the world. Between them, a firm plan was put in place so that the Goblin Nation could aid Harridan Potter. Goblins specializing in Wizard law were brought in to search the books for anything that would be needed to know no matter how obscure. Griphook had passed along the fact that Harridan Potter had been claimed by Albus Dumbledore but overridden by Lord Black. They all knew it was a matter of time before Dumbledore struck again.

At the end of it all, his counterpart was summoned. He was given the choice to merge with the older version and agreed. They touched and the merge was completed. Griphook felt complete again. He gathered the notes they had made over the planning session and looked them over one last time.

"Director, could we hold the reading of the Potter's will the day after their funeral? I believe that Lord Black and his grandsons will rest better when Harridan is safely hidden away," Griphook asked.

"I will make the arrangements for then. I will also have our contacts file the suitable paperwork for dual citizenship. House Potter and House Black have provisions for that in case of problems like this. You have permission to teach the children Goblin ways, so when the time is correct, he may be Friend of the Goblin Nation. Let me know if you need other assistance, but for now the child is your only duty. See you on the 6th."

Griphook left the offices and hurried to the bank doors. Wizards and witches quickly moved from his path. For some reason, humans reacted that way when a Goblin had a smile on his face.

Griphook returned to Black Hall to find the occupants increased by nine. Regulus was very good at his mission of gathering those that needed protection. He was glad that he thought to get more heredity parchment while at Gringott's. He quickly proceeded to test the children who had not been tested yet, making sure to keep one back for testing of Ms. Lovegood when she would next visit. Once the testing was completed, Griphook gathered the parchments and searched out Lord Black.

"Lord Black, may I have a word?"

"Of course, Griphook. Please come in a be seated."

"Under the Director's guidance, the Goblins of Gringott's have been given liberties to aid young Lord Potter. We have scoured the laws and have learned of some things that you will need to know. Heirs of the Great Houses must attend a minimum of five years schooling at Hogwarts, but are only required to be enrolled in one class, however if the prior education of said Heir exceeds the standards at Hogwarts, said Heir may test out of the class or classes they have enrolled in for the year. In other words, the children can arrive on September 1st of a year, attend the first class, then ask to be tested out. Because the required class enrollment is not for a core class, the children could all enroll in say Alchemy for a year. Hogwarts is required to provide the class if at least five students request the class. Since we know that Alchemy is no longer taught at Hogwarts, the children can all test out with little problem. Through our research, the only class on par with the American Schools is Potions, so as long as it is avoided, there should be no problems with the law. The Heirs of Hogwarts' Founders, however, are required to spend one week in the castle per year from the time they are eleven until they become of age." Griphook passed a parchment detailing the laws he summarized to Lord Black.

"Thank you, Griphook. This information is invaluable. But I sense there is more," Arcturus responded.

"Lord Black, I have been charged to teach the children the Goblin ways. I will begin with our language and culture, but eventually be teaching them to fight with our weapons and use our magic if they are able. This will give us the right to claim the children as Friends of the Goblin Nation and at that point, we can step in to shield them from the Ministry."

"On behalf of the children, I am more than honored to accept your aid. You and the Goblin Nation have the upmost gratitude of House Black and its Allies."

Griphook made to reply, but was interrupted by the pop of apparition. Standing before them was a High Elf who bowed deeply to both men.

"Lord Black and Lord Griphook, I am sorry to interrupt without being announced, but I bring urgent news," he said as he remained bowed.

"Please join us sir," Arcturus replied while trying to remember how to formally address a High elf. He had been taught the fundamentals, but High Elves had stopped contact with the human realms centuries ago.

"I am honored to join you. Lord Dobbyn will be joining us shortly but has been detained by his mother, the High Lady Amethyst. The Court of the High Elves has sent me to offer aid in your current situation. We will be providing training to the children in our language and culture as well as lessons on fighting in the Elvin style and Elvin Battle Magic. We shall also be providing two teams of guards to the children's protection. Each of the eight children will have a personal protector who will guard their bodies, I believe is the term. Lord Dobbyn requests that he be allowed to attend training with the children due to his lack of education during his being held."

"House Black and its Allies are honored by your offer, but could you tell us who Lord Dobbyn is?" Arcturus asked puzzled.

"Lord Dobbyn was once known as the house elf Dobby. He was captured by Abraxas Malfoy when he was only four years old and bound to family Malfoy. His binding gave him the appearance of a house elf, but he still thought like a High Elf. When the Dobby who returned from the dead, merged with the Dobby from this time, the magical backlash allowed him to remember his home. Magic judged Abraxas Malfoy and destroyed him for his crimes, first stripping his magic, then his life. Lord Dobbyn returned home and explained things to his parents, who in turn have ordered that Lord Harridan Potter of the Many Names and Titles or Master Harry Potter Sir which ever you prefer, is to be protected at all costs. In the old timeline, Harry Potter freed the house elf Dobby and treated him as friend. Dobby gave his life to protect that Harry Potter and gave up his peaceful rest, as did Lord Griphook, to return to give the child a better chance. The Elvin Nations means to see it happen."

The rest of the week passed in a blur of comings and goings. Black Hall was a hub of activity that had not been seen since before Phineas Nigellus Black had become The Black. Supplies and clothing had been purchased for the children, packed away, and sent to Black Vineyard. Custody of Faith had been awarded to Joyce after it was found that she was the granddaughter of Cassiopeia by a son who had been given up for adoption when he had no magic. Two of the four cottages at Black Vineyard were repaired and made suitable for Joyce and the girls and John and the boys respectively. Another would be repaired for the Lovegood family.

James and Lily Potter were laid to rest in a cemetery in Godric's Hollow with very few problems. Petunia Dursley attended the funeral alone and offered sincere sympathy to Severus and Harry. In return, Severus provided contact information to Petunia if a need should arise. She, Dudley, and Harry were all that was left of Lily's family. The biggest surprise of the day was when Remus Lupin arrived with Albus Dumbledore. After the service finished, the duo approached the mourning family and Remus began yelling at Sirius.

"How dare you show your face here, you murderous dog! You betrayed them and killed Peter!" Remus screamed.

"Peter is dead?" Sirius asked.

Several things happened at once. Lord Dobbyn and the other High elves in attendance grabbed the children and mundane people in attendance and quickly used apparition to transport them to Black Hall with half staying as guards and the other half returning. Representatives of the Goblin Nation set wards to keep the noncombatants safe. Severus, Regulus, and Lucius moved to stand between Remus and Sirius. Lord Dobbyn returned and spelled the left sleeves of each person present off.

When Remus saw that none of the men he was convinced were Death Eaters were marked, he stopped with his mouth hanging open. His thoughts were erratic and he wondered how he had been so fooled. He had been set to insist that Harry be given to Dumbledore so he could be placed with Lily's sister, but now he remembered that Lily said Harry would never be allowed to live with her sister. It was unfair to Petunia to be forced to raise a child that would have the magic that she always wanted. They could visit each other, but never would Harry be Petunia's ward. He then remembered the laws about the Great Houses and realized that the only place Harry could legally live is either with his parents or in House Black. He could not remember why he thought that Peter was dead, but from the look on Sirius' face, Sirius was not responsible if he was.

"Remus, I was not the Secret Keeper and I did not kill Peter! Peter is being hunted by the DMLE for the betrayal of James and Lily. I have been busy making sure that Harry is safe and will be taken care of if something happens to me. I rescued Alice and Neville, but was too late for Frank and Augusta. I needed your help. I still need your help, but you were missing." Sirius had tears running down his face when he finished.

"I have to think. I will be in contact," Remus said before he apparated away.

Albus Dumbledore watched as the last of his plans crumbled before him. Young Harry will be out of his reach until he turns eleven. The child being raised in House Black would ensure that he knew of the requirement to attend Hogwarts. Until then, Dumbledore would need to ensure that his plans for September of 1991 would be perfect.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Pandora Lovegood loved her life. When her daughter was born, she had everything that she could wish for. Little Luna made her life complete. Like Mary Winchester, she began having visions shortly after Luna was born. When Pandora saw her daughter's happiness in the vision of her future wedding, she knew that she and Xeno must arrange a contract with Lord Prince for his Heir. When she found out that the Heir would be Harry Potter, and that she got concessions to have Luna practically grow up with him, she was thrilled. This would make things much easier for Luna once she was gone. Pandora would make the most of the years that she would have with her daughter.

Xeno was the love of her life. She had met him when she was a first year Ravenclaw at Hogwarts and he a sixth year of the same house. She had known he was the one for her immediately although he did not notice her until they had both finished school and he had started his beloved paper, The Quibbler. They had run into each other while she was searching for potion ingredients in the same forest that he was searching for the Crumple Horned Snorkack. He questioned her for thirty minutes as to any signs she had seen of it before she asked him to have dinner with him. He agreed, but they had been dating for several months before he realized that Pandora and he had been not only at Hogwarts together for two years, but both had been Ravenclaws.

Pandora did feel badly that she had basically forced her daughter on Severus Snape and his son, but in her defense, it would make her daughter happy. She knew, due to her visions, that Harry and company would be living in California soon and Luna would be going with them because of the contract at least part of the time. She hoped that she and Xeno would be allowed to join them. Growing up with Harry and the others would allow them to have time to be used to the way Luna would behave because of her gift. Pandora had seen the pain that the gift would cause, but the other children would help lessen that pain.

Poor Luna would be able to tell many things about people by looking at their auras. This was not like the gift that most have, to tell a person's power level and whether they are a threat, Luna would be able to actually see images in the person's aura. She could look at a person and know things. Pandora's visions showed her that Harry and his other friends would be able to ignore this and treat Luna as a friend. They would never use her or abuse her gift. With everything that has happened since Samhain and all they had learned about the Ministry and those who were in charge there, the protection of House Black would be much appreciated.

It took several moments for Petunia Dursley to regain her thoughts after the man had grabbed Harry and then her and brought them to this place. The man, Lord Dobbyn if she remembered correctly, led her to a chair and helped her sit. With a snap of his fingers, a tea service appeared on the end table next to her chair.

"I must return to assist the others, but someone will be with you soon. Keep an eye on Harry until they arrive please." The man waited until she nodded acceptance before he disappeared with a quiet pop.

Petunia looked around the room she was in, finally noticing that it was a small library. She watched as Harry went to a box in the corner and removed several small toys then returned to the floor near her feet. After a moment, Harry offered her one of the toys and smiled as she took it. She held the stuffed kitten unsure as to what was expected of her, but Harry seemed satisfied with her just holding it. Soon she fell into her memories.

Contrary to popular belief, Petunia loved her sister immensely. She and Lily had been best friends until Lily met Severus and he took the role from her, but she and Lily remained close. Although Petunia was jealous of her sister's magic in the beginning, it was Dumbledore, then James and his friends, that caused the problems that led to their estrangement. Petunia knew that Lily and Severus were soulmates from discussions that she and Lily had over the years. Over the years that they had known each other, she and Severus bickered over little things because of the jealously of the others closeness to Lily, but after the two went to Hogwarts, Petunia had written them both each week. She had taken to looking in on Mrs. Snape and finally involved her mother when she found that Mr. Snape had begun hitting Mrs. Snape. After the death of Mrs. Snape, the Evans family had refused to allow Severus to live with the horrible man and took him into their home.

At the end of their fifth year, Petunia had locked Lily and Severus into a room to work out their differences. She remembered thinking that she would not allow a silly little name to stand in the way of her sister's happiness. She had stood with Lily when she bonded to Severus with only Regulus Black and the Evans parents in attendance. Regulus performed the ceremony, and while not quite legal, it was beautiful and very binding. Petunia was confused when Lily brought James home and introduced him as her husband and announced Harry's due date as being the end of July. Lily explained that Severus had become a spy for Dumbledore against the Dark Lord and when she found herself pregnant, they had chosen this farce to protect her and Harry. Severus' memories had been locked away, but as soon as the war was over, they would be returned and the family would be back together.

Petunia hated James and his friends. They seemed to look down on the Evans family and made remarks about Petunia's looks being the reason that Lily had been married first although she was the younger child. They had ignored the fact that her husband had been there and she was pregnant as well. The final straw was when James and Dumbledore arrived at the Evans home on a Sunday and removed the memories of Severus and Lily being bonded from her parents. She had never been so grateful to Severus when the necklace he had made her kept those memories safe, but allowed her to know what Dumbledore had planted into her parents. She had seen Severus once in the time since Dumbledore's meddling before today. He had come to her parents' funeral and Petunia and Lily led him to a seat with the family, where he belonged. James had picked a fight with Severus while his friends had pranked Vernon. Lily did nothing to stop it, and Petunia knew that Lily no longer remembered the truth. After the Potter's and friends left, she held Severus while he cried over the losses they had experienced.

Petunia had arrived at her sister's funeral with a plan. He sole intension was to grab Harry and return him to his father. She knew the passcode to unlock his memories and she would make sure that her nephew grew up with Severus in his life. It was the least she could do for what was left of the Evans family. She was thrilled when she arrived and saw Harry in Severus' arms.

"Harry dear, would you like it if, when you are older, your cousin and I come to visit. I can tell you stories about your mummy and daddy when they were young. I have known your daddy since he was nine years old," Petunia asked, smiling.

"Yes, Auntie Tuna. That be fun," Harry answered as he crawled into her lap. Harry stayed in her lap with them whispering back and forth for the next hour, until Severus returned and offered to take her home.

On her front porch, she made her goodbyes and asked if she could visit. Severus promised to make arrangements for the Christmas holidays and to keep in touch before he disappeared into the night.

Bellatrix Black was unsure how to feel about her change of circumstance. She was extremely happy that she was no longer under the effects of the potions and spells, and ecstatic that she was no longer married to that man, but she was unsure about her position in the family now. Was she now a daughter who would be forced to take care of the others for the rest of her life or would she be able to actually have a life now. She knew that she would be joining the others in California in the next few days, and her responsibility would be to help raise the children, but she wondered how much freedom she would have.

"Auntie Bella?" a small voice asked from the doorway of the library.

She looked up to see Harry, Neville, and Draco standing in the door and the small boys looked almost scared.

"Yes loves, come tell Auntie Bella what you need."

"Hawwy want to fix you like fix my Daddy and he Daddy, but you have be his. That okay, Auntie Bella?"

Bellatrix did not understand what the children wanted, but they were children so it could only be so bad. "Come here Harry," Bellatrix waited for the child before continuing. "Do you want me to be yours?"

"Peas? You be my Auntie Bella too? And Nev's too? We like Aunties, and you be better then Auntie Tuna. She just like me, you like all us. Peas be us Auntie."

"Yes, Harry and Neville, you can consider me your Auntie too."

Harry smiled brightly, then grabbed her left forearm. The child began whispering to her arm, but soon was shouting at it. "Auntie Bella mine and Drake and Nev! Not yours! She said! Go Away Dumb door! Go away!" Black smoke rose from her arm and the skin was left perfect. Harry cuddled her for a moment, then crawled off her lap.

"Bye Auntie Bella!" the three boys chorused as they left the room.

Bellatrix spent the remainder of the evening staring at her now unmarked arm.

Remus Lupin arrived at his small cottage in the woods a very confused man. It was if he had two distinct sets of memories in his head. One set of memories showed him that Lily never forgave Severus in their fifth year at Hogwarts. Those memories showed James winning her over and their eventual bonding. These memories were bright and full, but somehow lacking. The memories of Lily as a Potter showed Lily as a subservient wife whose only goal was to make a home for her family. This Lily had no temper and always agreed with whatever James wanted. These memories of James were much more realistic excepting one fact, the James Potter that Remus had grown up with was gay. His flirting with Lily had been a front, one that Lily agreed to and Severus had tolerated for the most part. Only the Marauders, Severus, and Lily knew the truth about James preference.

The new foggy memories that had begun surfacing at the funeral of his friends, his pack truth be told, were much more believable. These memories showed Lily's famous temper and while James adored Harry after he was born, the slight distance that had always existed between James and Lily in private was in these memories. These memories also included James' long time muggle lover, which Lily would have never allowed if their bonding were true.

Remus spent the night going over his memories and sorting the real from the false. The next morning, he Floo called Sirius and asked him to meet him for breakfast at a muggle place that Remus, James, Sirius, Lily, and Severus had met in several times over the years. Sirius agreed and asked if Regulus could join as well. Remus agreed and set the meeting time for an hour from then.

When the three were gathered and had placed their orders, Remus turned to the other two men and asked the question that assured them that Remus would be fine.

"Sirius, was James Potter gay?"

The reading of the Potter's will the next day was anticlimactic in many ways. The will contained proof that Peter Pettigrew was the Potter's Secret Keeper. Everything was left in trust for Harry with a few exceptions. Remus Lupin was made the executor of the American properties belonging to House Potter which would give him protection from the anti-werewolf laws in Magical England. The job included a nice salary and unlimited access to Harry with only two stipulations, Remus could not have any contact with Albus Dumbledore and must undergo a check for mental tampering one per week. Petunia and Vernon were left enough money to purchase their home outright and Dudley was set up with a vault to cover his schooling and supplies for either Hogwarts or an American school if they wished. In the event that Dudley was completely mundane, the money would be sent to his parents by the goblin in charge to cover his secondary schooling and University. Severus was given documentation showing Harry's parentage and James' adoption of him. Severus would have custody but Harry was to be tutored in the old ways by House Black. It was also suggested that Severus be checked for mental tampering and potions one per week. The last request listed in the will was for Harry to receive his pre-Hogwarts education in an American school. The reasoning for this was that American schools did not discriminate and would give Harry the basis that he needed to fulfill his roles both in the Wizarding World and the mundane.

Once the reading of the will was completed, the Goblin in charge of the Potter Estate asked Remus and Severus to join him so they could go over a list of Harry's duties that they would be in charge of until Harry turned eleven. At age eleven, Harry would begin taking over some of the duties until he was in charge of all of them at his majority. Remus and Severus joined him in the next room and they began.

"I would like to keep this as informal as possible, if you agree." Both men nodded acceptance. "Young Harry Potter will be required to make himself available to the other Potters once per year. There are several Potter properties on the East Coast that will due. Harry Potter is currently the only Potter remaining in Magical England, so the remaining Potters will be in the Americas and Australia. Since the only properties are located in England and America, one of those locations in proper for the availability and Remus will be in charge of setting up the meetings each year. Due to the laws of Magical England, Severus, Harry cannot live with you, but must be with House Black. Since, from my understanding, you are allied Houses, there is no reason that you cannot live with him. You must be careful to state that you are living with your son at one of the homes of House Black to ensure that those against you cannot claim that Harry is not with House Black. He will be required to have children for each house that he is Head of and can have as many wives as he has Houses. He may also fulfill the requirement by performing a blood adoption. As you both know, this need not be worried about until after he reaches his majority." The goblin paused and took a deep breath, steadying himself before continuing. This unnerved the men more than anything else.

"We at Gringott's are transferring the bulk of the Potter Estate, and the entirety of the liquid assets of the Pervell, Slytherin, and Gryffindor Estates to Gringott's Los Angeles. If you would like to keep the vaults open, we can do so, at no cost since you are not asking for this favor. Young Harry may need many of the objects from these vaults in the future for his training. The problem that we have encountered is that a few of the objects listed are currently missing. With your permission, we would like to retrieve these items."

"What items are missing?" Severus asked worriedly.

"From the Potter vaults, Dorea Potter's jewelry, Lily Snape's jewelry, an invisibility cloak, and several wands are missing. The portraits of the last three generations of Potters are also missing. From the Pervell vault 27 wands are missing. The Slytherin vault is missing four lockets and seven rings. And the Gryffindor vault is missing several weapons. It may be that some of these items are at Hogwarts, but without permission, we cannot retrieve them. We wish to gather the items that we can gather quickly before the vaults are transferred, but the others we will return as we retrieve them. I would also like to redirect Harry's mail to a vault to be checked for harmful items before being redirected to you. Would this be acceptable?" The men agreed and were asked to join the others.

"We have one last group of items to distribute before we have completed. Lord Potter asked that he and his wife's portrait be placed with Sirius Black, however Mrs. Snape asked that the portrait of her and James together be given to Sirius Black, but the portrait of her alone would be given to Severus. Once the portraits are both hung, she would be able to visit either and be near her son most of the time. She has left letters for the following people: Petunia Dursley, Severus Snape, Alice Longbottom, and letter to be delivered to Harry on Yule and his birthday each year. She has given us a list of things she would like purchased for both Harry and Dudley for Yule and birthdays until they are of age, but Gringott's will be handling those transactions on her behalf. We shall also send the letters to young Harry when it is time. Mrs. Dursley did not attend today because of her status as mundane in Great Britain, correct?"

Severus nodded and replied, "I shall deliver any paperwork that is needed to her and return it by owl to you. Her husband had bad experiences with some magicals once and is leery of our world because of it. He and I have met several times in the past, and he accepts me even if I can do "hocus pocus" as he puts it."

"Thank you for your assistance, Lord Prince. If there are no questions, our business is complete. Please make the appointments with Gringott healers to have your memories checked at your earliest convenience."

The funeral of Mary Winchester was a simple and quiet affair. The only attendants were John, Dean, Sam, Lady Black, Lord McMillan and his Heir, Earnest. She was laid to rest in the family crypt with centuries of protection layered upon it. Lord McMillan said a few kind words before he and his Heir left the others to grieve in peace. After several minutes, Lady Black also left the family to say goodbye. Dean kissed his mom on the cheek and held Sam up to touch her. John whispered his love and promised to keep the children as safe as he could before the family turned and left the crypt. They would be returning to America soon to begin their new life. Lady Black was waiting outside for them and took care of getting the four of them home.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

In an unknown location in the depths of one of the Hell dimensions, Azazel sat whining to Lucifer when they felt the approach of one of the Kings of Hell. Paimon strode into the chamber with a smug smile for Azazel and a deep bow for Lucifer.

"My Lord, your earthbound minion has failed to gain control of the child. I have received reports that he and several others have fled to America, but are hidden from our eyes and ears. But more disturbing, my Lord, are the reports from the crossroads. There has been a shift in power that has allowed the Powers That Be to interfere with Fate, and the Angelic Host is allowing it. This is the explanation of the disappearance of Duke Zepar when his meat suit was destroyed. And there is a rumor that Death's master has been born and is walking the land and is already in control of two of the three Hallows."

"My minion still has the wand and the Horsemen are still mine. I will deal with the failure of Dumbledore soon. The child will be dealt with soon, and my brother and I will still have our war. For now, we will watch and wait. Azazel will be free in thirteen years, Earth time, and we must be prepared for his return."

In an empty field near the town of Carthage, Missouri, two enemies met for the first time in a millennium. The two approached each other with trepidation, stopping with ten feet between them.

"Castiel, well met. Much time has passed since we last met."

"Crowley," he replied with a small nod, "What do you want?"

"I want the human race to survive. Things are changing and if my side wins, humans are no more. Rumor is that they are watching the Slayer line for some reason and Death's master is walking the Earth. Lucifer wants Death to be his and his alone, so he will be after Death's master."

"What do you want from me? Sounds like my side is winning. Why should I care."

"Your Winchesters are involved," came the simple comment from Crowley.

Castiel stood staring at the other man, wondering how much of his words were true. He had been given the directive from his Father to look over two boys, one born in 1978 and the other in 1981. Their mother had been displaced from the Wizarding World and their father would become one of the greatest hunters outside of the control of the Watcher's Council.

"I see I now have your attention. High Elves and Goblins have become involved in the human world again. The Hellmouths in America have all become active, but are shielded from the sight of Hell. There are others that feel the way I do and they are willing to help, if you will allow it. We need you to make sure that your Winchester boys understand that there is a gray in this, that life is not just black and white. We wish to be the third side in the upcoming war."

"I cannot interfere with the Winchester family until they become aware of the demonic," Castiel said softly.

"They know. The wizards were stopped from removing the memories by an agent of the Powers That Be. Azazel has been banished, but with Lucifer's help, it is not permanent, but it will give us time to train them. And, just a warning, the one with the angelic face cannot be trusted. He does not choose to be good, it is forced on him. Remember, he was not a good person when he was living, so why would his soul being returned change things."

"I must think. I will act in the way that is best for Heaven, my Father, and the Winchesters."

Whistler had orders, but because he was a balance demon, those orders did not really matter much. Regardless of orders, he was required to keep the balance. If he delivered the message to the vampire who would be souled, the balance would be too far to the good side, so his message would be delivered to the cursed one. It would allow him to move the balance back to neutral, although it would cause the Chosen One pain.

Whistler travelled through the sewers of New York searching for the one who now called himself Angel. He would send the time between now and when the girl became Slayer feeding hints and clues to Angel. Once she was of an age that the curse would not make him refuse, he would encourage Angel to allow himself to love the girl. He would push him into his one moment of true happiness and break the curse. At that point, the balance would be restored and the Slayer that they had all waited for would be no more.

Albus Dumbledore returned from his meeting with his patron in severe pain. Lord Lucifer had not been pleased that he had failed, and his punishment was great. Upon his return, he received the news from Minerva that Severus would be taking an extended leave of absence and would be unavailable for the next several years. Dumbledore was informed that Severus had accepted an apprenticeship with a Master in Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts, but would be returning to Hogwarts in September of 1991 to fill whatever role Dumbledore would select for him. 'At least I have not lost him completely,' Dumbledore thought.

For now, he would keep his eyes on the demon community and watch for a sign of Harry Potter. He would contact the Order of Aurelius to offer assistance in the return of the Master. In return, he would ask that they keep an eye out for Mr. Potter. It was little, but it was the only contact he had outside of his patron in the demon world. He just hoped that it was enough. The boy would be at Hogwarts eventually, but ten years was a long time to wait.

Regulus Black found himself in a white room with no doors or windows. He remembered a room like this when he had died, before he had been given the option to return. He noticed a presence behind him and turn to face the new arrival.

"Welcome again, Master Black. We are pleased with your progress so far. Ask Mr. Giles to aid you by teaching the children Latin and then the old languages. Make sure they learn the old ways. Protect them so they can protect the world. The Slayer and the Souled Vampire will become a force to be reckoned, and the Hunter's Sons will help the Dragon to meet his potential. You have ten years before the others will be able to act openly, use it wisely. Our seer will join you at the Redwood, heed his words or he will be lost."

Visions filled his mind but his conscious mind only saw flashes. A vampire who resembled the Malfoy family. Flash. An Irish kid coming home with Dean from school. Flash. The children speaking in Old English. Flash. Draco training with weapons with Dean and Sam. Flash. Sirius teaching the children to become animagus. Flash. The scenes flashed before his eyes for what seemed hours. When he felt he could not take anymore, they ended.

Regulus Black woke alone in his room.

The First Evil could feel his bonds weakening. His banishment had less than two decades remaining. In less than twenty years, the Worlds would pay for binding him. He would have his revenge.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

A/N: Sorry for the delay in this chapter. Real life has been crazy and this chapter did not want to cooperate.

The group descended on Black Vineyard en masse. When they arrived, the large group broke into smaller groups with Merrick leaving to retrieve Rupert and Diana from Sunnydale. Marcus remembered the place from his youth and showed the Winchester family to the cottage for their use and then took Joyce and the girls to the largest of the four cottages. Regulus showed Alice to her and Neville's suite, then escorted Severus to the suite closets to Harry's suite. Narcissa was left to lead her family to the suite that had been hers as a child. Sirius showed Remus to his suite, while Lord Black asked to speak with Bellatrix for a few moments before he was forced to return. He led her to the family sitting room on the third floor.

"Bella, I know that you feel that being sent to America to help with the children is a form of punishment, but it is not. There is nothing to punish you for, child. You are a Black, a true daughter of House Black, and while propriety states that you should be living in Black Hall, your aunt and I discussed matters and feel that keeping you in England would be unfair to you. It will appear that you are being closely watched, but here you will have much more freedom than you would have had by remaining in England. I do want you to help with the children because they need women in their lives, but I also want you to have a life free of blame from the crimes the man who abused you. I want you to make friends, even if they are mundane, and I want you to be happy."

"Thank you, Lord Black. I will do my best to do as you ask. The children asked me to allow them to claim me as 'Auntie' and I accepted. After everyone has time to settle in, I may ask Alice if she would like to join me to visit Cousin Joyce and the girls. Maybe I could be their 'Auntie' too."

Arcturus smiled as he watched Bella become more like the child he once adored. He gave quick goodbyes before returning once more to England so he would be able to run interference for Lord Prince, who had sent his request for a leave of absence until September of 1991 to Professor McGonagall just this morning.

The group celebrated the American holiday of Thanksgiving together on the 26th of November and included the High Elves and Goblins in their celebrations. Each of the smaller groups that made up the much larger one chose a dish that reflected their family and made the celebration multicultural much the way it was originally intended. Bella had learned of a food processor that would grind the food that the adults would be eating and purchased one for the main house. She insisted that the smallest children should be able to join in with the others too and soon there were samples of every dish for Faith, Buffy, Luna and Sam to eat. The older children could try the food without it being processed. To the Goblins delight, Buffy, Faith, Harry, and Dean all loved the spicy Goblin dishes. Griphook told the children the name of each dish in Gobblygook and then English as they tried each one. Dobbyn did the same with the Elvin dishes. The two had decided to do this with common words and items to increase the speed that the children learned. In some cases, the children would learn the English, Goblin, and Elvin word at the same time.

Lessons would begin in earnest after the beginning of the new year. Most of the children would be like little sponges and soak up the information. With Dean being older, he would have the most problems of the group, but he would be able to pick the two languages up as well. Since Dean was older than the others, it was decided that he would learn the basics about weapons at a faster pace than the others. He would be prepared to wield a knife before he headed to begin school in September. It would not do to send him with no protection.

Arrangements were made for Yule celebrations. Yule would be celebrated in the main house at Black Vineyard, but the groups would be free to celebrate Christmas as they wished. Severus and Remus got together and decided that the Dursley family would be more comfortable visiting in one of the Potter homes that was more mundane and they could also open the house to the other Potters during that time. Petunia and her family would come to New York on the 23rd of December and stay until the 26th when they would tour New England before returning to England on the 30th. Harry would be made available to the American Potters from the 26th to the 30th, then return to Black Vineyard to celebrate the New Year with the larger group.

Time passed quickly until Yule. House Black had not performed the Winter Solstice rituals since Marcus was a child, so for the younger members of House Black, as well as the children, this was a new experience. Marcus, with the help of Griphook, Lord Dobbyn, the Lovegoods, and Merrick, planned the rituals and gathered the necessary supplies. The children spent the days leading to Yule making gifts of apples and oranges for the baskets they decorated with oak and holly. Dobbyn and Griphook gathered enough oak saplings for each member of the household to plant. A bonfire was laid in the back of the Vineyard and the house was decorated with traditional holly and oak and several modern Yule logs for each of the children to light the candles.

On the afternoon of the Winter solstice, the children were gathered and given their baskets. Because of the age of the children, Sunnydale was chosen as the location to give the gifts. Merrick and Marcus had selected homes of those who would be kind to the children and those few earth magic practitioners that lived in the town. They had found enough families for each of the children to leave a basket. It was decided that Merrick, Regulus, Severus, and Bella would join the children for protection and they would begin with the youngest, Sam, and finish in order of age with Dean, the oldest. Everything went well until Harry met the cat.

Harry was bored. They had been to several houses, and still had more to go. The house that was his belonged to a magical null, which his aunts and uncles were excited about, but to Harry it was boring. It was even more boring when no one answered the door. Harry placed his basket by the door, but was quickly bored again. He spotted a cat at the edge of the yard and became quickly entranced by the small furry creature. Harry attempted to get Draco and Neville to join him, but they wanted to avoid making Auntie Bella mad, so he decided, with the all the wisdom of a two-year old, to follow the cat.

The cat in question was black with a small patch of white on his chest. The cat had been feeling his person for almost two months now, but this would be the first time that he was able to reach him. He led the boy, his boy, to the area that he shared with a large snake and a white owl. When the boy entered the mouth of the cave, the snake began to hiss.

" _Speaker, you have finally arrived. We wish to be your companions. We three are magical and can be of some help. Will you allow it?"_ the snake hissed.

" _We wish to aid your journey. Others will come to you as well, but we wish to offer out services first,"_ the snow white owlet chirped.

" _We would be honored just to call you friend,"_ mewed the black cat.

Harry was startled when the animals began to speak to him, but since he was new to being a wizard, he thought it was normal. He thought about how not boring it would be to have animal friends who would play with him, even when the others were busy.

"I will be your friend," the small boy replied.

"Where is Harry?" Bella asked with terror creeping into her voice.

The other adults began looking around in horror for the young boy. Bella quickly activated the tracking tag she placed on all of the children and called for Kreacher to her side. She ordered Kreacher to return the other children to the safety of the Vineyard before following the pull towards Harry from her spell. Severus asked Merrick to wait in case Harry returned and he and Regulus followed Bella with wands drawn. The trail led through one of the largest cemeteries that existed in Sunnydale.

Nearing the center of the cemetery, the two wizards noted the presence of several undead moving towards them. Worse, Bella would be cut off from them once the undead arrived. They prepared themselves for the oncoming attack and hoped that Bella could find Harry and get him away. The vampires arrived and of the twelve, all but two attack Severus and Regulus. The other two followed Bella.

Severus used all of his vast knowledge to begin setting vampires on fire and then removing their heads with a spell. Regulus fell into a defensive position and kept the vamps away from them while Severus worked. It was a wonderful plan, but unfortunately as the vampires were almost destroyed, other demons began to appear. Regulus caught Severus' eye and the men nodded. They would give it everything they had to buy Bella the time she needed to save Harry.

Meanwhile, Bella was so focused on getting to Harry she barely noticed the vampires following her. She did not register when demons appeared and began stalking her too. She reached the cave that her spell indicated that Harry was located and she paused to access the situation. Only then did she realize the danger that she had placed herself in due to her blind focus on her nephew. She fired a slashing curse towards the closest to her when a huge black panther burst from the cave behind her.

The panther was followed by a huge snake, a small boy, and a snowy owl. The boy grabbed Bella by the hand and tugged her as her followed through the destruction being caused to the demons and vampires by the snake and panther. The owl landed on Bella's shoulder as they walked. The two animals led the group to two others and immediately jumped into the fray to protect the two men. In a short time, the threat was handled and the cat and snake returned to the small boy before shrinking down to a housecat and a 4-foot python.

"Am I in trouble?" Harry asked as the adults took turns cuddling him.

The days between Yule and New Years were eventful. An influx of magical creatures began arriving at Black Vineyards and refused to leave. There were now a variety of hippogriffs, a pair of griffins, several species of snake, a small herd of unicorns, and several centaurs. When questioned the centaurs only response was that Mars was becoming brighter, but Venus was still the brightest, and they wished to experience the changes first hand. The Goblins and High Elves walked around with knowing smirks, but the only answers they gave was 'Patience is a virtue.'

Harry's days were busy with his trip to New York. Surprisingly, Severus and Bella enjoyed the visit with Petunia and her family. Harry and Dudley became quick friends and shared joyful chases of the cat that Harry insisted was named Mordred. Harry named his snake friend Sally and the Snowy Owl was called Hedwig. The Dursley family made plans to visit California during the summer before they left for their tour of New England.

The open house for the American Potters did not go as well. On the morning of the 26th of December, the current residents of the New York City apartment awoke to screams before 5 am. Severus emerged from his bedroom to find the main sitting room in chaos. Both Mordred and Sally had assumed their enlarged forms and had pinned three adults to the sitting room wall. Hedwig was performing what could only be described as a dive bomb to the trespasser's heads. To make matters worse, Bella and Harry were rolling on the floor in laughter so hard they were beginning to turn colors. Severus cast a calming charm towards the two, hoping to calm them enough to get answers. As they began to catch their breath, the Floo lit with Remus stepping out.

"I warned you to wait until a decent hour before arriving," he growled at the three men trapped by the animals and then turned and addressed Harry. "Lord Potter, I apologize for this early disturbance. These gentlemen insisted that they would be seen when they wished because they have better standing than the Head of the Family." Remus bowed to Harry deeply.

"You are not at fault, Remus. Mordred, Hedwig, Sally, stand down. Father and Aunt Bella will take care of them," Harry said in the formal voice he had been practicing.

"Gentlemen, I am sure that you felt you could come and control your Head of House because he is only two years old. I assure you that is not the case. His aunt and I are not his only protection. The Aurors are on the way to arrest you for breaking in and the attempted control of the Head of FOUR Most Noble and Most Ancient Houses and the Heir to a Most Noble and Most Ancient House and the Heir to a Noble and Most Ancient House. I will be asking for investigation into whether your intent was to perform line theft. I will be in contact with Most Noble and Most Ancient House of Lovegood concerning an attack on the contracted betrothed to the Heir of that House. I hope that you have a very good explanation for them, because nothing you can say to us will be acceptable. It is only because Lord Potter has few living relatives from that family that I have not killed you myself," Severus ranted at the men. Mordred and Sally had backed down, but still remained enlarged. Hedwig, however, was still making runs at the men.

The Aurors arrived and Remus spoke with them, explaining the situation. The men were arrested and Remus passed along contact information if he, Harry, or any of the others were needed. The Head of the DMLE, East Coast arrived with apologies before giving his contact information to pass along to House Lovegood.

Only one meeting was arranged for the rest of the week, and Remus made contact to move the meeting to that afternoon. The adults decided to cut the trip short. An announcement was sent to the family informing them of the altercation and cancelling the open house for the rest of the week. Arrangements would be made for the summer, but Harry could be contacted thru Remus if needed before then.

The meeting was set for 3 pm to allow Harry to have lunch and a nap before having to meet anyone new. The Potters arrived at the appointed time and Harry greeted them formally. After the introductions were made, Harry asked how he could be of assistance.

"Lord Potter, we ask for permission to allow our family to return to England to be closer to you. Many of the American Potters have forgotten the old ways, and we wish to return to them," Harry's cousin, Daniel, answered.

"Daniel, England no longer follows the old ways. House Black, House Lovegood, House Longbottom, House Prince, and Harry's Houses have formed an alliance to work towards bringing the old way back. We are not currently in England, and will not return until at least 1991.l, but you are welcome to move to California to be closer. Your twins are the same age as Harry's friend, Dean, Heir to House Winchester, and he will be attending the Redwood Academy beginning in September. He would probably enjoy having someone around who was his age rather since Draco is the closest to him in age and the three-year difference is huge at this age," Remus replied for Harry.

Daniel and his family asked for time to consider and assured Remus and Harry they would have an answer a few days after the New Year. The twins, Adam and Angela, played quietly with Harry while the adults chatted. Daniel's wife, Laura and Bella bonded over their mutual love of the soap opera, Passions, while Remus, Daniel, and Severus discussed the political differences between America and Magical England. Bella invited the family to join them for New Year's at Black Vineyard and arrangements were made when the invitation was accepted. When the Potters left, the group happily returned to California.

The New Year's celebration was enjoyable for all involved. Dean, Angela, and Adam got along wonderfully and were happy to keep an eye on the smaller children. Faith, Buffy, and Luna were all walking now, and Sam was doing his best to catch up to the others. At almost eight months old, Sam was very advanced from constantly being around the older babies. Faith had turned one during December and Buffy would be one in January. Luna would follow soon after, turning one in February. The older boys, Draco, Neville, and Harry, would not have birthdays until June and July, but Dean would be five in January. The Potter twins would be five in February.

The next several months were busy for the children. The Potter twins were included in the lessons at the Vineyard. The smallest children, Faith, Buffy, Luna, and Sam, were limited to learning the languages and cultures of the allied races. Next year they would begin learning other languages and educational basics. The twins and Dean were included in the studies of Draco, Neville, and Harry. Mornings were spent learning the cultures and languages of various groups and three afternoons were spent learning about the various animals that still arrived on the Vineyard grounds and the other three afternoons were spent in physical training. Days were taken off when each of the children had a birthday and afternoons were taken for birthdays of the resident adults. Lessons ended just before Neville and Harry's birthdays and would not be held until after Dean, Angela, and Adam started school.

The Dursley family visited during August and were awed at the magical shopping trip that they were invited to attend. The younger children went with Bella and Joyce to a magical playpark while Severus, John, Daniel, Laura, Vernon, and Petunia accompanied Dean, Angela, and Adam to the magical shopping area in Los Angeles. The children would not receive their own wands until the year they turned eleven and Redwood supplied most of their supplies, so the parents were only purchasing uniforms and a few items like notebooks, pencils, and backpacks. Vernon had previously had bad experience with magicals, but the Americans treated he and Petunia the same as they did the others. In fact, when the store keepers found out that the Dursley couple were non-magicals they offered to explain anything and answer any questions that they might have. The only question that Vernon had was why these people were so friendly and their counterparts in England so horrible.

A celebration was held at Black Vineyard the last weekend of August 1982. This weekend was selected because the Dursley family would still be in America and could attend. The children ran and played with the animals while the adults put on the magical version of a cookout. The three children that would be heading to school after the Labor Day holiday were at the center of the celebration. The three had spent many hours learning to master the Goblin and the Elven daggers and each of the children were presented with one of each.

Arcturus and Melania attended the gathering and spent the day smiling at the children and the relationships that had developed in the less than a year that they had been together. Arcturus made the decision that House Black would be entering the political arena in both America and England immediately. These children needed the protection that he could provide until they became old enough to protect themselves.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Dean and the Potter Twins began school on the first Tuesday of September, 1982. The first year of school was only a half day and focused on basic education such as learning the alphabet and numbers with some focus on social interaction. Many of the children who were students at Redwood had very little interaction with others their age, so interactions would be monitored for problems with simple etiquette lessons included. Over all, the twins and Dean enjoyed the experience. After the Yule break, the children would be given beginning aptitude tests, so the administrators would know which students could use a wand, which could perform elemental magic, and those who had special abilities that needed to be trained. The three children excitedly discussed which areas they would be able to study.

Redwood Academy served the western part of the United States and Canada, with a school covering central United States and Canada, a school covering eastern United States, a school covering French Canada, and a school for Mexico and Central America. These five schools followed the same curriculum with the exception of the French Canadian school and the Mexican school which taught French and Spanish respectively and English as a foreign language elective. The schools included all children who had experience with the supernatural and the goal of these five schools was for students to be able to fully function in both the supernatural world and the non-magical world. Students not only learned about magic and the supernatural, they also learned the necessary subjects needed to be prepared for college or to enter the workforce once they graduated.

The residents of Black Vineyard found this concept amazing. Those born outside of the magical world in England left their homes at the age of 11 and remained at Hogwarts for 10 months of the year for the next 7 years. At the end of those 7 years, if the student could not find a job in the magical world, they were left with very few options due to the lack of non-magical education. In the past, before the old ways were abandoned, when a child was found to have magical ability a sponsor family would take the non-magical family into their own to offer protection and knowledge of the world they had become a part of as soon as the child showed their accidental magic. This kept the child from being thrown into a situation that created culture shock and allowed the non-magical families to have a voice concerning their child or children. When this system was abandoned, there was a large rise in the amount of abuse seen in the magical world. Children from mundane households came to Hogwarts with no understanding of the history of the world they had been thrown into and tended to cling to cultural beliefs that they had grown up with little tolerance for the traditions of the wizarding world. The lack of tolerance on both sides turned into prejudice and hatred and allowed the current demonic influence in the wizard world. The system in place in America keeps the prejudice and hatred down. The fact that the children began interacting with others of various backgrounds and talents at the age of 5 helped increase the feeling of tolerance.

After John Winchester completed his first couple of classes at Redwood, Joyce, Alice, and Bella decided that they needed to join classes to round their own educations. While the younger children were still home during the day, they would only be taking one class each, but in two and a half years, they could increase their studies. With luck, the three woman and one man would be up to date when it would be necessary for Neville, Luna, and Harry to return to England. The ladies also began attending the classes with the children on the cultures of the Goblin Nation and the High Elf Realm. In weapons training, Joyce excelled in the longbow, while Alice showed strength in the thrown weapons of all types, but Bella became a sword master in short time.

The next several years moved by quickly. The children excelled in their studies with Dean and the Potter twins making sure to keep up as well. Bobby Singer joined the group for holidays and had enrolled at Redwood through correspondence courses to increase his knowledge of the demonic and angelic languages and warding against them. Regulus provided him with an emergency portkey so he would not be cut off from the family if he was attacked. Surprisingly, Bobby, John, and Severus became very close over the years spent together and the three began to hunt together when Severus' schedule allowed. Severus and John bonded over the fact that their children had pleaded with them to lay off with their overprotectiveness. When the children realized that they had made their fathers worse instead of better, they called in Auntie Bella, who appeared with her swords blazing and threatened the two men, which began their monthly visits to Bobby.

The summer of 1985 was memorable in several ways. The Dursley family were scheduled to arrive at the beginning of the summer to visit this year due to the children beginning school in the fall. The problem was that while traveling to the airport, the family was attacked. Arcturus was notified when the magical attack occurred and arrived on location within seconds of the attack, but he was unfortunately too late to save the adults. Dudley had luckily had his emergency portkey and had been pulled away from the scene to Black Hall and he at least was safe. The Black arranged for the family to attend the funeral and the reading of the will. Everything would be held in trust for Dudley with the Goblin Nation as the trustees, but custody of Dudley would go to Severus with hope that Dudley and Harry could be raised as siblings. Vernon's sister Marge would have no rights to the estate or Dudley unless she could prove to be alcohol free for a minimum of one year and attended regular mental health screenings. When she was informed of the terms of the will, she announced, in front of the child, that he wasn't worth the hassle. Dudley's belongings were packed and shipped via elf to California while Harry, Dudley, and Severus returned to California by airplane. Dudley settled in quickly and although he missed his parents greatly, he knew that they were watching over him and his new family. He was excited to be learning the same things that his cousin had told him about over the years, but he worried about being so far behind. When it was explained to him that they would all be learning new things when school began in September, his worry lessened. Griphook and Dobbyn assured the boy that with a little hard work, he would be able to catch up with the others, after all, he had joined them in their classes for the month he visited for the last two summers.

Waivers had been approved for Luna, Faith, Buffy, and Sam to begin school when the boys began. This was achieved due to the marriage contract between Harry and Luna. Since all of the children lived in the same household essentially, the administration agreed that allowing Luna but refusing the others would be unfair since they had the same tutors prior to this year. Supplies were purchased for all of the children and the back to school cook out was planned.

On the day of the cook out, Merrick, Diana, and Joyce took the group of three eight-year olds, four five-year olds, and four four-year olds to a park in Sunnydale to burn off some of their energy before the party that afternoon. While there, the adults noticed that two other small children were at the park, but they had no supervision. Joyce took it upon herself to keep an eye on the children. After about an hour, a man came into the park yelling at the unsupervised young boy. He grabbed the child and began to drag him away from the little girl. The small boy fell as he was being dragged and the man began hitting and kicking the small child. The girl was screaming in terror for her friend, and the children were now moving to protect the girl. Merrick rose to intercept the man, while Diana called the police. Joyce positioned herself to be able to help the child once Merrick had the man distracted.

"Excuse me, sir? You are upsetting my charges with your handling of this child, and I would ask you to stop. My friend has called for assistance from the police and they are on their way here," Merrick requested politely.

"Fuck off, old man!" the man screamed at Merrick.

"Sir, I ask that you do not use that language in front of my charges," Merrick requested, again politely.

Dean and Adam were sitting on Draco and Neville while Dudley and Angela each had one of Harry's arms. Luna had Mordred, holding the twenty-pound cat tightly to keep him from attacking the man who was upsetting his boy.

"I said, fuck off!" the man screamed, dropping his hold on the child before lunging at Merrick.

Joyce took the opportunity to grab the child and bring him to the other children. She and Diana stood between the two men and the children, watching as Merrick quickly avoided the man's blows. When the police finally arrived, they attempted to arrest Merrick. Diana called the Vineyard and soon Regulus and a disguised Griphook arrived on the scene.

"I suggest you unhand my client and arrest the gentleman who was attacking the child before you make a bigger scene than you already have. Ms. Dormer, could you please make a request for a supervisor to be dispatched to this location as well as medical personnel for the child? We may want to press charges," Griphook stated.

"Who the hell do you think you are? I am the law around here! You have no say in this. This man beat Mr. Harris for no reason and he will do time for this. Mr. Harris is an upstanding member of this community and you are all nobodies!" The officer became irate as he screamed at Griphook.

Within ten minutes, Griphook had the situation under control. An ambulance arrived and determined that the young boy needed to be transported. The supervising officer found that the young girl was left in Sunnydale while her parents were on a book tour. The girl, Willow, was five, and she had been left alone because school would be starting in a few weeks, but the tour would not be over until December. The parents had hired a service to bring groceries into the house and pay the bills. Griphook gained temporary custody of both children for Joyce and the children's belongings were gathered and brought to Joyce's small cottage on the Vineyard property. Due to the closeness of the beginning of the school year, it was decided that Willow and Alexander would be kept home until the hearing the second week of September.

With Black Vineyard being a magical residence and Sunnydale being the active Hellmouth, Griphook was able to make the case that the custody hearings fall under the magical world's domain. The Magical Magistrate of California agreed to hold the hearing in Sunnydale on August 30th, a Friday, so the children would be able to begin school on time.

Willow's parents did not appear, but sent an attorney with an order to halt the hearing. The magistrate overruled the order and sent a representative from the Aurors to retrieve them. The Harris' arrived because they had no choice. After Alexander was questioned, his mother had been arrested for neglect and child endangerment. When the Rosenbergs arrived, it was in cuffs.

Since Griphook brought the charges, he was allowed to make his case first. He called Merrick as his first witness. Merrick explained what he had seen and his conversation with Mr. Harris. Once Griphook concluded his questions for Merrick, the Rosenberg's attorney, Abraham Kauffmann, was able to question him.

"Mr. Merrick, did you see Mr. or Mrs. Rosenberg that day?"

"No. When we arrived at 9 am that morning Willow and Alexander were already there and although the children tried to include them in their play, the two were very reluctant to join. They would not accept any snacks or drinks when offered either. Mr. Harris arrived just before noon."

"So you and your accomplices offered food and drink to small children?"

"No. My charges offered because it is rude to eat in front of someone without offering when they have nothing." Merrick was beginning to become angry.

"Please tell us what you do for a living to be at a park for that long on a weekday," Mr. Kauffmann asked.

"I am employed by Black Vineyard as a consultant and a guard for the children in residence. Prior to my employment by Lord Black, I worked for a private security force."

"Who is this private security force?"

"That is need to know and you do not have clearance. I will inform the Magistrate if necessary, but otherwise that does not concern you."

"I am afraid that I must insist that you tell us. We only have your word that you are qualified as security," Mr. Kauffmann stated smugly.

"I am afraid Mr. Kauffmann, that information in top secret and you do not have clearance. The Court is aware of the past employment of Mr. Merrick and I for one commend him for his reasons for leaving. If you have any relevant questions, please continue. If not, please allow Mr. Klein to ask questions," the Magistrate stated gruffly.

"No further questions."

"Mr. Klein, you may begin."

"Mr. Merrick, at what point did you attack my client?" Mr. Klein asked.

"I did not. I moved each time he attempted to hit me," Merrick answered.

"I would like to enter these pictures as proof that Mr. Harris was assaulted." Mr. Klein produced a series of photos to the Magistrate then continued. "You are attempting to state that all of these injuries are the result of you moving?"

"Sir, I am attempting nothing. I am telling you if I would have put my hands on that man, he would be in much worse shape," Merrick growled.

"Mr. Klein, if you continue to harass this witness, I will have you removed," the Magistrate stated firmly.

"No further questions."

Diana and Joyce were both testified and were cross examined. Joyce was questioned as to how she intended to support the children if awarded custody since she was single and already responsible for two other children by Mr. Klein.

"Mr. Klein, I own the White Gallery in Los Angeles. The house my mother purchase for me when I graduated college with a 4.0 just sold for an outrageous amount of money. I currently live in a cottage at Black Vineyard with my daughters. Our expenses are less than the amount of interest that I draw each month. Adding two more children will be no hardship," Joyce stated firmly.

"Mrs. Summers, which of the men in residence at Black Vineyard are you sleeping with?"

The room went silent in shock. Within moments, the sound of several swords being drawn echoed in the room. Griphook stood, sword drawn, faced Mr. Klein. He placed the tip of his sword under Mr. Klein's chin.

"You will apologize to the lady or I will remove your tongue from your mouth," Griphook growled.

The smell of urine filled the room. Mr. Klein quickly apologized to Joyce and was led from the room.

"Mrs. Summers, the Court would like to apologize for the slander that has occurred against you today. We understand that as a daughter of House Black, Lord Black should be informed at once. Is Heir Black in attendance today?" the Magistrate asked.

"No sir. The children are home, but available if needed. The only children in attendance are Willow and Xander. Lord Black did send his grandson, Sirius, as his representative," Joyce answered.

"Sirius Black, will you agree to be the Court's contact to Lord Black?" Sirius agreed. "Please send the Court's apologies to Lord Black and please let our family know the Court stands behind whatever actions The Black deems necessary."

"Thank you, Lord Magistrate. On behalf of House Black, we do not hold the Court responsible," Sirius responded.

"Shall we continue? I will be questioning the Harris' and the Rosenberg's myself. I would first like to speak with Willow and Alexander," the Magistrate stated.

Willow told the Magistrate how up until this year, someone had been hired to stay with her while her parents traveled, but this year they announced that she was now old enough to stay alone. She had been alone since the end of May. Xander explained how his father beat him at least once a week and his mother was always drunk, even when she drove him.

Mr. Harris insisted that he and his wife had done nothing to "the boy". When asked, he could not tell the Magistrate the child's name although it had been said several times that morning. Mrs. Harris admitted that her husband was abusive, but as long as he was focused on Xander, he was not hitting her. The Rosenbergs felt that by leaving Willow alone it would teach her to be self-sufficient. They supplied groceries and paid the bills, but she was expected to cook and clean for herself.

"I have heard enough! Anthony Harris, for the abuse of Alexander Harris and the assault of Mr. Merrick, you are sentenced to ten years in the Goblin Mines. If you survive your sentence, you will be allowed no contact with Alexander. You are hereby banned from the States of California and New York. Linda Harris, for the neglect of Alexander Harris, you are sentenced to five years in the Goblin Mines. If you survive your sentence, you will be allowed no contact with Alexander. You are hereby banned from the States of California and New York. All assets belonging to the Harris' will be sold and held in trust for Alexander Harris, regardless of the name he chooses to use. Ira and Sheila Rosenberg, for the neglect of a magical child, you are sentenced to five years in the Goblin Mines. You will never be allowed contact with Willow and your assets will be sold and held in trust for Willow Rosenberg, regardless of the name she chooses to use. I award full custody of Willow Rosenberg and Alexander Harris to Joyce Summers, House Black. Thank you for your attendance today. This session is closed."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

The morning of September 3rd, 1985 was chaotic to say the least. Joyce had enlisted the aid of Merrick, Giles, and Diana to make sure that her four charges gathered all of their supplies, bathed, and ate a hardy breakfast. Once the children were ready, they walked to the closest cottage to them and knocked on the Winchester's door. John answered the door with a smirk on his face. In the back of the cottage, the voices of Sam and Dean arguing could be overheard.

"Sorry about the noise. The boys should be down in a few minutes. I sent Dean up to rush Sam along," John said softly.

"No hurry. We just wanted to know if you and your boys wanted to walk with us. We still have time, so no rush," Joyce replied with a smile.

Over the last several years, Joyce and John had flirted unabashedly, but had never gone beyond that. The attraction was definitely there, but the children had always been the priority. Now that John had completed his training and both of his boys were now in school, Joyce was sure that John would be throwing himself into hunting. She hoped that he would wait until Sam was at school all day before he would leave, but even then, it was only a year.

Joyce was ready to put her farce of a marriage behind her and was very attracted to John. The reason that she did not act on that attraction was that she was unsure if John was ready. He and his late wife had been happy, and happy memories were harder to move on from than those like hers. John Winchester was a man who was worth waiting for. He was good with the children, just the right mixture of strictness and lenience. Most of all, he was a kind man under the gruff exterior he showed to the world in general. He always had a smile for her and the girls and had offered to allow Xander to "bunk with him and the boys when the estrogen got to be too much".

The boys joined them a few minutes later and they walked to the main house. When they entered the house, it was bedlam. Sirius, in his animagus form, was chasing the children. Bella alternated between tears and laughter as she grabbed any child that came within reach. Harry's animals were stationed near the door, to prevent the escape of the children without them. Regulus and Severus were involved in a heated discussion with Luna and Harry.

"Harry, you cannot take all of your animals with you to school. Luna may take one and you may take one. Neville and Draco cannot take one of them because they belong to you. Luna is your betrothed, so what is yours is also hers, as what is hers is also yours, with the exception of familiars. Mordred has bonded as your familiar and Sally does not tolerate the touch of anyone but you. The two of you may take Mordred and Hedwig, but Sally must stay here!" Severus stated, becoming upset enough that it showed in his voice.

"But Dad, Sally says she needs to go so I can learn to use her in my magic!"

"Harry, even if parcelmagic is taught at Redwood, you will not be learning it in your first year! If you continue to argue, they will all stay home!"

"Fine! Mordred will come, but I won't choose between Hedwig and Sally," Harry said with a pout. He placed a small arm around Luna and led her to the dining room, careful to avoid the over emotional Auntie Bella.

Finally, the drama of the morning was completed and the children gathered near the end of the drive to wait for the bus. The Potter twins were already waiting for the group when they arrived. Severus and Regulus watched as the thirteen children loaded onto the bus. Most would consider thirteen to be an unlucky number, but the two adults knew that when Harry was involved, all bets were off.

Dean played the part of a big brother to the ten new students that lived on the compound that he called home. There were two classrooms for the Kindergarten students, but since the ten had all studied together before, they would be in the same class. To Dean's surprise, the other students in their class were the children of the High Elves and Goblins that worked at Black Vineyard. He learned that those children would arrive by portkey each morning, but return to the Vineyard in the afternoon until their parents could return them home. He left the children in the classroom, feeling much better about the lack of guards.

When he and the twins arrived in their new class, he noticed that there were several new students in his class as well. Three Goblins and three High Elves had joined his class. This would be an interesting day. He and the twins were now in second grade and would be beginning to learn the theory behind the individual magics that they possessed. Dean would be studying Earth Magic and Demonology in addition to his basic education. All of the children were taught the basic theory behind all forms of magic, but at the end of their Kindergarten and first grade years, they were given an aptitude test to see which fields they were able to practice. At the end of Kindergarten, Dean was unable to use wand magic, but at the end of first grade, he tested as a weak wand user. The teachers decided to test him again at the end of second and third grades to determine if the ability has increase to levels that would benefit training with a wand. If the ability continued to grow he would have to be trained to keep from harming himself and others.

He greeted the Goblins and the High Elves in their own languages before settling into his own seat. He was looking forward to this year. Sammy and the others were here now and school was about to become very interesting.

When the teacher, Ms. Janna Kalderash, entered her classroom on the first day of her new job teaching Kindergarten, she found half the class speaking to each other in Gobblygook and the other half speaking in Elvish. The interesting part was that the human children were included by both the Elves and the Goblins. All twenty-four of her students could at least speak one other language. She spent a few minutes watching this group of four and five year olds interact with each other. Two of the children seemed to be unable to follow the conversations around them, and one of the others did not speak as well as the other twenty-one, but he seemed to understand them somewhat.

Janna cleared her throat and then began the introduction that she had planned. "Hello class. My name is Janna Kalderash, but you can call me Miss Janna. Welcome to the Redwood Academy. This class is a bit different than the regular classes offered here at Redwood, and will be covering more than the regular classes. If you feel overwhelmed at any time, you are encouraged to come to me and I will either give you additional help or if necessary transfer you to a regular paced class. Now, I would like for each of you to stand, introduce yourself, and share a bit about yourself. We will start with Ms. Lovegood and continue around the room."

"Hi! My name is Luna Lovegood, House Lovegood. I live at Black Vineyard and my father is the owner of the Quibbler. Oh, this is Mordred, Harry's familiar."

"My name is Faith Lehane-Summers, House Black. I also live at Black Vineyard and Buffy, Willow, and Xander are my siblings."

"I am Willow Summers and I don't have a house," Willow began.

"Willow, you and Xander are House Black, too. Mom adopted you and Lord Black accepted you into the family, remember," Buffy interrupted.

"Oh yea, sorry. Willow Summers, House Black."

"Xander Summers, House Black. Willow and I were adopted last week, so we are just learning this stuff. We both come from mundane families."

"Buffy Summers, House Black. Faith has been my sister as long as I can remember, but I just got Willow and Xander last week."

"Draco Malfoy, House Malfoy. Harry is my cousin and best friend."

"Neville Longbottom, House Longbottom. Sam Winchester is my best friend."

"Sam Winchester, House Winchester. Neville is my best friend."

"Dudley Dursley, House Prince. My parents recently passed away and Harry's dad took me in because Harry is my cousin. My parents were both mundane, but we have visited Harry in America since we were about one and a half."

By unspoken agreement, the Elves and the Goblins introduced themselves next, leaving Harry for last. He had the most to say after all.

"My name is Harridan Severus James Potter Prince, Lord Potter, Heir Pervell, Heir Slytherin, Heir Gryffindor, Heir Black, Heir Prince. I like the name Harry best though. Draco is my best friend and Luna is my betrothed. Since American law states I can inherit at eleven, I shall become Lord Pervell, Lord Slytherin, and Lord Gryffindor then, but I hope that Lord Black and Lord Prince live to be really old so I don't get those titles too. Can I bring Sally to school? She really misses me when I am gone."

Janna answered before she thought, "That will be fine, Harry." She was still in shock that the Heirs of some of England's most important families are in her class and she will be in charge of their education for the next thirteen years. "Since we are in an accelerated class, we will begin testing now to see where our focus should lie. This will continue for the rest of this week. For the next several weeks, we will focus on mundane subjects, but we will begin theory at the beginning of October. It has been decided that I will advance with you as you progress, so we will be together for the next thirteen years. Any questions?"

Luna raised her hand and after Miss Janna acknowledged her, asked, "What about when we have to go to Hogwarts?"

"I will still be in charge of your mundane education."

"Are you afraid of snakes?" Dudley asked quietly.

"No, I am not. Why do you ask?"

"Sally is a ten-foot long magical python and you told Harry she could come to school with him," Dudley replied with a small smile.

A compromise was reached between Harry and Severus concerning Sally. Sally would be attending classes on Mondays and Fridays, but Severus would be in attendance as well. The other days Hedwig would attend without Severus. The testing of the class showed that all of the residents of Black Vineyard were able to learn all types of magic except Xander and Dudley. The two of them would be able to learn all types except wand. They both tested as borderline and would be tested again in a year.

The class covered all of the Kindergarten topics by Yule break and would begin the first grade materials after they returned. Janna had decided to have the children work towards their mundane education for the rest of the year with a day once a week in spent in theory. At the rate they were progressing, they would have covered all of the subjects prior to the children needing to leave for Hogwarts. Janna hoped that she would still be needed because she had become attached to the children. As long as she was involved with House Black, her clan would leave her alone about watching over Angelus.

The Kalderash Clan had been one of the most prominent clans of Romani in Europe for several centuries until tragedy struck. Angelus, of the Order of Aurelius, attacked and killed the Romani princess of the Kalderash Clan. After her death, the clan fell apart. Half of the elders wanted to curse Angelus and the other half felt that it was cruel to punish the soul for the sins of the demon who controlled the body. The curse was applied and the Kalderash Clan became ostracized. None of the other Romani would accept them unless they disavowed the Clan and their actions. Janna was one of the children born after the breaking of the clan, but she was fortunate enough to be born with the ability to perform wanded magic. She kept her name, but because she was born a member of the magical world, she was accepted by all of the Clans of the Romani. She avoided her family, but they still tried to push her into doing their work. Personally, she felt that the Kalderash Clan were as bad as Angelus for punishing the soul of an innocent man rather than destroying the demon that actually killed the princess.

Janna was invited to celebrate Yule with House Black her first year of teaching. She accepted the invitation and was honored to be included. She made the drive to Los Angeles for new dress robes after classes the last day of school for the year. It was a short trip from Redwood to LA, but it took longer than she imagined to find proper robes and have them fitted, so it was well after dark before she was able to begin her trip back home. As she travelled down the streets of Los Angeles, she saw a face she hoped that she would never encounter, the face of Angelus.

He was standing close to the southern on ramp for the express way that would lead to Sunnydale. She hoped that he was not headed to the Hellmouth, but she was unsure. She pulled into the gas station directly across from where he was standing and began to watch. He was eventually picked up and Janna decided to follow the vehicle that picked him up. She quickly caught up to the car and followed it to the Sunnydale exit. Fortunately, the driver was unharmed, but now her students could be in danger. She needed to contact House Black immediately.

Since Black Vineyard was involved in the mundane world, they had a phone. Janna pulled into a gas station near to where Angelus was dropped and used the payphone to call. Her call was answered by a woman with a heavy British accent.

"Ello," the voice said.

"Hello, my name is Janna Kalderash. I am the teacher of Lord Potter and his classmates. Would it be possible for me to speak with his father?"

"Lord Prince is not in right now, but I am his Aunt Bellatrix. Could I help you?"

"Are you familiar with the Order of Aurelius?"

"Where are you? Can you come here? I will gather the others who need to hear this. I can come to get you if necessary."

"I can be to the Vineyard in fifteen minutes."

"Hurry, please. See you soon."

Janna hung up the payphone and hurried back to her car. She glanced around for Angelus before pulling out of the parking lot and turning towards Black Vineyard. He was standing in the shadows across from her, watching. Making sure her doors were locked, she said a prayer to which ever gods would listen that she would make it safely to Black Vineyard. She watched for signs that she was being followed, but saw none. She arrived at the gates and saw Lord Prince waiting for her in the gatehouse. She stopped for him to enter her car and they drove in silence to the main house. He showed her to the large family room near the main entry and told her to make herself comfortable while they waited for the others to arrive.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Regulus Black stood before the gates of Nuremberg waiting for the staff to answer his call. The ghosts of those tortured and killed in this hell made him wish that this was not important. Questions needed to be answered. He needed answers so he could protect Harry. He needed to look into this prisoner's eyes and see the truth.

The gates opened and he was greeted by an ancient house elf. The elf looked him over for a moment before nodding and leading him onto the grounds. Regulus followed attempting to keep his eyes on the elf as he followed. The further onto the grounds that he followed, the worse the feelings of doom felt. In the four years that he had been with Harry he had almost forgotten how strong his empathy had become. His life since he had rescued Harry and they had begun building their lives in California had been calm and happy along with the others that he interacted with, but here it was almost overwhelming.

"We are here, Herr Black. You must leave your wand here. You will have thirty minutes. I will return then to lead you out," the elf said in a heavy German accent. Regulus placed his wand in the box provided and took a deep breath before entering the cell.

"Herr Grindelwald? I would like to speak to you for a few moments, if possible," Regulus said softly.

"If you have come on behalf of that demon who calls himself Dumbledore, I have nothing to say," the man replied with hatred that made Regulus shutter.

"I have come to ask about the demon who inhabits the body once known as Dumbledore, but definitely not on his behalf."

"You know?" Grindelwald's surprise filled the room.

"Yes. My charge is in danger from him. I need to know whatever you can tell me to help me protect my charge. Will you help me?"

The children of Black Vineyard were piled in the television room. The room was warded so magic could not be used in the room and mundane electronics could. Bella had discovered Nintendo in October and the Vineyard was currently the home of a NES and Duck Hunt, Super Mario Brothers, and Kung Fu. Bella insisted that the games would improve the children's hand eye coordination when she purchased the system and games. She had hidden the other fourteen games that were available in her room for Yule gifts next week.

The children were playing a round robin tournament of sorts on Kung Fu. Dean fought Sam first as they were the oldest and the youngest. The winner of the best of three game would play Draco, and that winner would play against Neville and so on until everyone had a turn. They would start again at that point. They had spent every Friday night since mid-October this way.

Luna cuddled up with Mordred and Harry on one of the loveseats around the television. She knew that she would marry Harry when they were grown and her visions showed her that they would be happy together, but they also showed several children that looked nothing like her. At four and a half, she was unsure what these visions meant, but as long as she and Harry were happy, it did not matter. She closed her eyes when the phone rang and she heard Auntie Bella answer the phone.

Luna slipped into her visions. She saw an older Buffy and a Malfoy that she did not know running hand in hand away from an explosion. She saw the unknown Malfoy throw himself on top of Buffy to shield her from the explosion. The vision changed and the man pulled someone attacking Buffy away from her and ripped his throat out with his teeth. It changed once more the man staked a woman with a dreamy expression when she threatened to kill Buffy. Luna knew that this man would protect Buffy as best as he could. Buffy needed him to survive and Luna needed to tell Bella that he had to be saved.

Soon, people began moving into the room and quickly seating themselves. Introductions were made as the adults entered. John Winchester and his friend Bobby Singer entered with Joyce Summers. Regulus and Sirius Black entered with Bellatrix Black and Lucius Malfoy. Narcissa Malfoy and Marcus White were followed by Lord Dobbyn of the High Elves and Griphook of the Goblin Nation. Last to arrive were Merrick, Rupert Giles, and Diana Dormer carrying boxes of old books and scrolls. Severus Snape, Lord Prince, stood before the group and took a deep breath before he began.

"A family meeting has been called to address an issue that is dear to most of us, but affects the standing of our Houses. It is our solemn duty to protect those that cannot protect themselves. As the Lords and Ladies of the Magical Kingdom of Britain and in some cases Lords and Ladies of the Magical Democracy of the Americas we are all charged with the duty of the destruction of the Order of Aurelius for crimes against the Great Houses. We must listen to the information brought to us by Ms. Kalderash and decide how to act." Severus turned to Janna and continued, "Please, Ms. Kalderash, tell us what you know."

"I was born to the Romani Clan Kalderash after the Disavowal of the clan. I am accepted as Romani because I was born a wand witch and ancient law allows me to be accepted. I was taught as a child the faces of each member of the Order of Aurelius. Tonight, when leaving Los Angeles, I saw Angelus. I followed him to Sunnydale. He did not harm the driver that picked him up, but he is now on the Hellmouth. His soul has been returned, but it is rumored that the one he can find happiness with is near Sunnydale, and he may be searching for her. If he is ever truly happy with her, the curse will be broken and the soul will be expelled."

"What do you know of the one foretold?" Merrick asked.

"She will be the slayer bound to the Hellmouth. Death is her gift, and Death's Master calls her family."

The room went silent as the occupants contemplated the new information. Marcus began to pace while he muttered. Giles, Merrick, Diana, Bobby, and John began to pour through the books and scrolls from the boxes while Bella whispered with Lucius and Cissy. Slowly, the others in the room came back to reality. Sirius comforted his cousin Joyce and muttered assurances that things would be different this time. Lucius stood and put on the aristocratic face that he normally reserved for appearances in the Wizengamot.

"House Malfoy calls for a quorum of the Great Houses," he stated quietly.

There were forty-two houses in Magical Britain that were at least Noble Houses. To create a quorum in Magical Britain, at least twenty-two Heads must be present. The Magical Kingdom of the Americas also acknowledge forty-two houses, but they may not be the same houses. Both kingdoms acknowledged the six Most Noble and Most Ancient Houses but only eight of the Noble and Most Ancient Houses of Britain were recognized as such in the Americas, and four of the Noble Houses. Of the eighteen Great Houses recognized both places, the Heads of ten of them either lived at Black Vineyard or visited frequently. Lucius' request had put them into a bit of a predicament.

If Lucius had requested a quorum of the Most Noble and Most Ancient Houses, all six Heads would be required, but that would be easily done with the presence of Arcturus, Xeno, and Harry. The problem was that the decisions made could be questioned due to Harry's age. The wording of the request did allow some leeway because House Malfoy was acknowledged by both Britain and the Americas, so a quorum of either was possible. It would also be possible to achieve quorum with a mixture of both of the nation's Great Houses. With that option, any Great House not aligned with both kingdoms would need to be represented equally. Six houses from each kingdom in addition to the ten they currently had access to.

"Since the crime to be discussed is pertaining to both Britain and the Americas, I feel that both the kingdoms should be included in the decision process. There are eighteen families acknowledged by both, so if they are all available, we would need two additional families from each nation," Merrick stated quietly.

"I will contact Grandfather and ask him to gather the people that we will need. Marcus, would you be able to help us gather whomever else we need?"

The various occupants of the room broke into groups. Each group was busy making contact with those that would be necessary to create the quorum. Janna knew enough of the Great Houses that she understood that no one would be able to leave until the quorum had been established.

Luna joined Harry the next day when he was summoned to attend the meeting. She needed the adults to understand what she had seen. Regulus had been busy since he returned from his trip yesterday and then even busier since Mr. Malfoy asked for a quorum, so Luna had not told him about the vision yet. She only hoped that they would listen to her. Harry told her not to worry and he would make sure that she was heard. She hoped he was right.

Luna was nervous as she entered the room. She knew this was a formal meeting and very important for Harry to pay attention to the way this would work. In the future, she and Harry may be the only Heads of the six Most Ancient and Most Noble Houses. She should probably pay attention, too.

She and Harry took seats next to Lord Black and her father. Other people were entering the room and taking seats in the chairs that had been arranged to face the four chairs at the head of the room. She recognized several of the people entering. Of course, Lord Malfoy, Lord Winchester, Lord Prince and Lady Longbottom arrived together with Neville with them. Lord MacMillan was just outside the doors, speaking with his sister, Lady Black. Lord Moody arrived with Lady Bones from London and Lord Greengrass arrived with Lord Parkinson. Lord Septimus Weasley arrived with his wife, who joined the Black family waiting outside of the room. The six men that she did not know arrived together and seated themselves on the right side of the room. They all bowed to those at the head of the room, but acknowledged no one else. Lord Black stood, then cleared his throat.

"I would like to take a moment to thank all of you for coming on such short notice. House Malfoy has demanded a quorum of the Great Houses. I have not been given details due to the quorum being demanded, but I do know that this affects both Britain and the Americas. Are there any questions before the quorum is called?"

"Why are there children here?" asked one of the men that Luna did not know.

"Lord Franklin, due to the subject matter of the quorum, it is vital that the six Most Ancient and Most Noble Houses be represented. Lord Potter is in attendance due to this. Heir Lovegood has joined us due to information that she will be providing. Lord Longbottom is in attendance with Lady Longbottom due to his age. Lord Potter's father is seated among you in his role as Lord Prince, but will be advising Lord Potter if necessary after quorum is called," Lord Black stated firmly.

"Thank you, Lord Black. I have no further questions." Lord Franklin returned to his seat.

"Are there any other questions," Lord Black asked and then waited for response. When no one responded, he continued. "I, Lord Black of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House Black, call this quorum into order. I will announce each member of the quorum and then those with business before the quorum. Lord Lovegood, the Most Ancient and Most Noble House Lovegood." Xeno stood and nodded, as each would do as they were introduced. "Lord Malfoy, Most Ancient and Noble House Malfoy. Lord Prince, Most Ancient and Noble House Prince. Lord Winchester, Noble House Winchester. Lord Longbottom and his mother Lady Longbottom, Most Ancient and Noble House Longbottom. Lord MacMillan, Most Ancient and Noble House MacMillan. Lord Greengrass, Most Ancient and Noble House Greengrass. Lord Parkinson, Most Ancient and Noble House Parkinson. Lord Weasley, Most Ancient and Noble House Weasley. Lord Moody, Noble House Moody. Lady Bones, Noble House Bones. Lord Garcia, Most Ancient and Noble House Garcia. Lord Martinez, Most Ancient and Noble House Martinez. Lord Sousa, Most Ancient and Noble House Sousa. Lord Franklin, Noble House Franklin. Lord Adams, Noble House Adams. Lord Santos, Noble House Santos. Lord Potter, Most Ancient and Most Noble Houses Potter, Slytherin, Gryffindor, and Pervell. We have been called to quorum by House Malfoy in the matter of the Order of Aurelius. For those of you who are not aware, House Malfoy issued a blood feud against the Order of Aurelius in 1880 when William Pratt, third in line to become Head of House Malfoy, was turned against his will by Drusilla, a young vampire and a member of the Order. She was turned in 1860 by Angelus. Angelus was sired by Darla in 1753, who was sired by the Master in 1609. Darla and Angelus were turned by choice, as Darla was dying from syphilis and Angelus was a horrible human being even before he was changed. It is unclear if Drusilla was mentally fit to accept being turned, but she became extremely unstable after she was sired. I will pass the floor to Miss Janna Kalderash for the reason that we are here now."

"I am Janna Kalderash and I am Romani. I was born to the disavowed Clan Kalderash, but have been accepted by the Romani as a whole due to my ability with wand magic. My birth clan was disavowed in 1898 when they placed a curse on Angelus after he brutalized and killed the clan's princess. The curse returned his soul to his body along with the demon. The other clans gathered and disavowed the elders who acted against the will of the Romani. There is a happiness clause in the curse. If he achieves true happiness, the soul will be expelled and Angelus will be unleashed again, with no warning. The Romani believed that this clause would create greater danger and it was unfair to the soul. I was raised until eleven with my birth clan and the faces of the members of the Master's line were taught to me from the time I could understand fear. Last night, I saw Angelus as I was leaving Los Angeles, and I followed him to Sunnydale. I contacted the residents of Black Vineyard to warn them of the danger so close to their home. I knew, since I teach many of the children here, that they are a very important part of the magical world and it is very possible that one of the children could be the one foretold to bring happiness to Angelus. She will be the slayer bound to the Hellmouth. Death is her gift, and Death's Master calls her family." Janna finished her tale and moved to leave the room when Harry quietly asked a question.

"Who is Death's Master?"

"I am not sure who it is, Lord Potter. I am not sure that the slayer involved is one of the girls living here, but I thought it would be better safe than sorry," Janna replied.

"Thank you Miss Kalderash. If we have more questions, we will call you back," Lord Black said, then continued. "Lord Malfoy, the floor is now yours."

"Thank you, Lord Black. I seek permission to wipe the Order of Aurelius from the Americas and Britain. The blood feud is still in force, but certain vampires have gained protection in both kingdoms. The threat to those here is real. I requested the quorum to protect a daughter of both House Black and House Malfoy. I ask that you allow Rupert Giles to give testimony to this quorum. He was a member of the world of wanded magic before being banned for being involved in a group who summoned the demon Eyghon the Sleepwalker in 1975. The normal punishment for this crime is ten years of probation with no wand, which has happened. Mr. Giles became a member of the Watcher's Council after the incident and left the Council in October of 1981. He has been in residence here since early November of that year."

"We shall vote," Lord Black interrupted. The vote, by show of hands ended with 19 for and 2 against, with Lord Malfoy abstaining. Giles was asked to enter.

"Please state your name and explain how you came to be in residence of Black Vineyard," Lord Black asked.

"Rupert Giles. My mother and father are members of the Watcher's Council as are many who are born mundane in a magical family. As it is proven in the Americas, many times the children of such marriages are born with magical ability and I was one of these children. I was not invited to attend Hogwarts at eleven, but was instead sent to the Durmstrang Institute. The people in the group I was in were all students there. What was not taken into consideration when I was brought to trial is the seventh member of our group. Myself, Ethan Rayne, Thomas Sutcliffe, Deirdre Page, Philip Henry and Randall Rosier were all products of marriages of first generation mundanes who were born magical and refused entry to Hogwarts. The last member of our group was Ivan Krupin, the demonology teacher at Durmstrang. The summoning was a part of our final project for that class in 1973."

"Excuse me, Mr. Giles. My name is Lord MacMillan. I remember sitting your trial. We were told that you were all muggleborns and that you committed this crime in Britain. Is this not true?"

"No sir. We were arrested when we returned to Britain two years after we summoned the demon. We had been in Britain several times between the summoning and when we were arrested. We were not allowed to testify as part of the 'bargain' our parents reached with Barty Crouch to keep from being imprisoned. We were given the choice of joining the Watcher's Council or being banned from Britain. I joined the Council and the others left. While working in the archives, I found that many slayers had been taken from magical families prior to showing magical ability. Many of these girls had their powers bound and died quickly once they were called. You must understand that normal protocol is that the potential girls are not taken until they are at least three years old. In December of 1980 a girl was born and plans were made to take the girl in October of 1981. Another girl was born in January of 1981, and the same plans were made for her. I contacted both Watchers to see if there was a reason for early removal in either case. Neither Watcher was aware of their new assignments. We researched the girls and found that they were both descended from House Black. We retrieved the older girl and located the younger girl. The older girl was in a horrible situation and showed signs of abuse, even at her young age. The younger girl was in a loving home and very well taken care of. We spoke with the mother and her family and when they were accepted back into the family, we were invited to stay on as trainers and security."

"I am Lord Sousa. Which family is affected by these crimes?"

"Lord Sousa, I will answer that question. Faith and Buffy are both daughters of House Black," Lord Black responded.

"Buffy is also a daughter of House Malfoy," Lucius replied.

"I understand the reason for this quorum. I am sure that we will all protect the privacy of these two young girls," Lord Sousa replied.

"As you can see," Lord Malfoy began, "this is a sensitive matter to all of us that live here at Black Vineyard. There is a possibility that either Buffy or Faith could be the girl Angelus is searching for, not to mention the crimes against House Black and House Malfoy by the Watcher's Council. I beg for permission to end this threat and destroy the entire Order of Aurelius."

Luna took a deep breath and stood. "May I have permission to speak?" she asked quietly. Once permission was granted, she walked to the center of the room.

"My name is Luna Lovegood. I am Heir Lovegood until I am married to Lord Potter once we are both of age. This is known, but what is unknown to most is that I am Heir Ravenclaw as well. I am the third child from her line to inherit her gift in the last thousand years. I will be the first to attend Hogwarts. I have visions. I had a vision of Buffy, but older. She had a protector. He was a vampire, but looked a lot like the Malfoy family. She called him Spike and he killed to protect her. He also through himself in between her and an explosion. I ask that he be spared for Buffy."

"Thank you Heir Lovegood," Lord Black responded. "We will stop here for refreshment. Please discuss this among yourselves and once we continue, we will come to our decision."

The quorum ruled that all of the Order of Aurelius be killed on sight without recourse with the exception of William Pratt, House Malfoy known as the vampire Spike. He would be captured and questioned before a decision was made in his case. That night, Severus, Regulus, Sirius, and Lucius tracked and killed Angelus. They also located and killed Darla and the Master. All three were in Sunnydale. The Master was trapped underground in Sunnydale and had several vampires of his line there as well. The only members of the Order left were Spike and Drusilla. None of those involved in the hunt were harmed except Sirius, who slipped and fell and received a bruise.

The quorum also decided to investigate the accusations against the Watcher's Council and the report of the wrong doing of Rupert Giles. They would meet every three months to discuss the findings.

Yule was amazing in 1985 as it was all the prior years at Black Vineyard. The children celebrated the holiday by handing out baskets in Sunnydale as they normally did and lighting the Yule log. Dudley missed his parents, but was happy that he did not have to spend time with his Aunt Marge. He was slowly catching up to the others in his training with the High Elves and the Goblins. He was fitting in with the strange family he was now a part of and hopefully he would not have to be separated from them when it was time to go to Hogwarts. He was lost in thought on these matters when Mr. White asked to speak to him.

"Dudley, I know that you must be worried that the others will be leaving you behind when they return to Britain for Hogwarts. Stop worrying. I have the ability to sense magical cores, and you do have one. You are a member of House Slytherin after all."

"But I cannot speak to snakes and I thought that all of his relatives could," Dudley responded, trying not to whine.

"No child, they do not. But to be his Heir you must have that ability. That is why Harry is Heir and you are not even though you are older. Just like Luna is Heir Ravenclaw because she is from the family and has Rowena's gift. All of the children who live here now have cores, even Dean, who when I first met him, did not. I imagine that within the next year or so, all of you will start performing accidental magical if not controlled magic. Just be patient."

"Thank you, Mr. White. I feel much better now."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Since Halloween 1981, changes had begun happening in Britain. Xeno and Arcturus began attending meetings in the House of Lords, something that the magical members had not done in over a hundred years. Their attendance was noticed and reported to the Queen. The two Lords met with the Queen in November 1983 and she was brought up to date with the goings on in the magical part of her kingdom. She agreed that change would be necessary, but wished to attempt it from the inside if possible. Xeno and Arcturus left the meeting with orders to repair the corruption and bigotry in their world or she would step in and clean up using whatever means necessary, including deadly force. Her last words to them was that improvement must be seen within a year's time. Meetings were scheduled every six months to update her.

Their first order of business was to insure those of the Wizengamot swore the appropriate vows. The first meeting of 1984, Xeno stood and addressed those gathered.

"I, Lord Xenophilius Lovegood, Head of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House Lovegood, call for a renewal of vows. The Wizengamot will not be held until this occurs. So I Say It, So Mote It Be!"

The room went utterly silent. In the silence, with a large smile on his face, Arcturus stood and spoke, "I, Lord Arcturus Black, Head of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House Black, call for a renewal of vows. The Wizengamot will not be held until this occurs. So I Say It, So Mote It Be!"

The two men watched as all seats in the chamber disappeared and an oath stone rose from the center of the room, destroying the witness chair that had been bolted there. Xeno strode to the stone and placed his right hand upon it, then spoke the vow. "On my life and on my magic, I swear this vow. I, Xenophilius Lovegood, House Lovegood, promise to uphold the rightful laws of the Wizengamot and the House of Lords. I further promise to make no law that infringes on the rights of the Kingdom of Britain, both magical and mundane. So I Say It, So Mote It Be."

Xeno's chair reappeared and he took his seat smiling at those standing in the room. Arcturus stood and swore the same vow, and his chair reappeared once the vow was completed. Barty Crouch attempted to make the vow without mention of mundane Britain or the House of Lords and was magically ejected from the room. Alexander Avery attempted the vow as Xeno and Arcturus had stated it, and was struck down immediately. For hours, the former members of the Wizengamot attempted to make vows that they felt they could uphold without swearing the actual vow required. Only those who swore the actual vow and meant it were returned their chairs. Of the sixty members of the Wizengamot less than twenty still had seats when the day ended. The hereditary seats would remain empty until a member of the family was able to swear the oath. Dumbledore refused to take the oath, claiming that it would interfere with his place on the International Federation. His younger brother, Alberforth, swore the oath with no problems, but refused to place Albus as his representative. Severus, Lucius, and John were brought in that night to swear the oath. John's oath was altered to remove the swearing on his magic, since he did not have any.

With the new Wizengamot members, Xeno and Arcturus began reviewing laws and striking those that either went directly against the laws of mundane Britain or were discriminatory in any way. They managed to begin passing laws that would protect non-human citizens and those born to mundanes. At the first update meeting with the Queen, they were able to give her good news, but she would still be watching.

The people of magical Britain were torn over the changes that occurred in the years after Voldemort was destroyed by a fifteen-month old child. Those born in the mundane world were now able to find jobs after they finished at Hogwarts. Those who were born into the magical world still did not understand the mundane world, and that was where the problems lie. For generations, children were taught that they were better than "mudbloods" and now that the laws allowed for the hiring of mundane born people, they could not understand why they did not get the best jobs anymore or why being a pureblood no longer held sway. Families that thought that their positions in society was unflappable were suffering from their inability to change with the times.

The old ways had been reinstated. When mundane parents had a child who showed magical ability, a magical family stepped in and explained the situation. In most cases, this worked well, but in some, the parents could not handle how different from themselves that their children were, and gave the children to the intervening family. These cases were few, but those who did were magically adopted into the families that took them in. There were now fewer misunderstandings about the different cultures that were exposed to each other, but occasionally a child did fall through the cracks and ended up with no exposure prior to the visit from the teacher to deliver the Hogwarts letter. Most of these children were from households that chose not to accept the aid of the family that would introduce them to the magical world.

House Black refused to allow the Harry Potter fictional series to be published as fact. He insisted that the named be changed in the fictional series and that it be in no way inferred that Heir Black was responsible for these fictional acts. While he was not able to keep Harry completely from the public forum, he controlled the outlandish and was able to present his Heir as a person rather than the godlike thing that the world had intended for him to become. He missed the little boy who had wormed his way into the heart of his family and so many others, but it was much better that he be protected in California rather than being thrust into the spotlight when he could not understand.

While there was a huge amount of progress left to go, most everyone was happier now than before. Severus, Lucius, and John returned to magical Britain occasionally to cast votes and be seen in public. Draco and Harry stayed in California for the most part, but were kept up to date with the goings on in their home country. Unknown to the adults other than Auntie Bella, the children had plans of their own. They were all raised in the knowledge that one day they would have to return to Britain, but they were planning on taking the world by storm.

Spike had been located and once Drusilla had been removed from the picture, he responded as a magical vampire should and became almost obsessive in his protection of the children that he came to care deeply for. Although he was of demonic origin rather than the type normally found within the magical world, his magical origins overcame the violence of the demonic natural of his change once his sire was dead. He and Bella had begun a relationship, but had not spoken of bonding yet, due to his plan of accompanying the children to Hogwarts once they had to go.

The children knew that they would be attending Hogwarts in September of 1991 and were heartbroken that they would have to leave their home. Luckily, they had been informed that Spike, Janna, and Severus would be going with them. Arcturus had arranged for the other adults to be able to visit during the school breaks. Luna and Sam had researched how they would all be able to stay together and had finally found a way. Buffy, Faith, Luna, and Sam would be members of Harry's entourage. Once Harry was eleven and accepted into Hogwarts, he could claim Head of his Most Ancient and Most Noble Houses. With the Alliance of the Six, he could claim protection of any House not equal to his own, and any under his protection that would turn eleven prior to the end of the school year, June 30th, could be educated with him. Luna was able to claim the same protection as his betrothed. Spike was one of his guards and Janna his personal tutor. The contingent of High Elves and Goblins would be his additional guards.

Harry, Neville, and Luna were taught the rights and responsibilities of the Founders. They knew that they could over rule the Headmaster if he violated their rights. The problem was that they would only be eleven. Who would be willing to listen to eleven year olds?

Nine years had passed since the night that had changed everything for the large family. On this night each year the entire family gathered to celebrate the lives of James and Lily and honor their sacrifice in the defeat of the demon who had controlled Tom Riddle. James, Lily, and Mary all appeared this year and each of the children were blessed by the spirits. Mary told John to ask Joyce out before he lost another good woman which caused them both to blush. Lily told Severus to find someone to keep him from being lonely. James congratulated Sirius and Remus for finally admitting their feelings for one another. With a final warning not to call upon them in Britain, the spirits faded away.

Those who lived at Black Vineyard were preparing to return to Britain. All of the children had strong bonds between them. They all knew that Lord Lovegood and Lord Black had done as much as possible to bring the old ways back, but they had no control over Hogwarts. Though it was once again legal to hold the old ceremonies and worship in the old ways, Hogwarts refused to allow it, stating that it would leave the muggleborns out. Hogwarts only celebrated the Christian Holy Days, but only a watered down, secular version. No one taught ritual and blood magic was not even mentioned. Janna would be in residence at Hogwarts as Lord Potter's personal tutor so the children would not fall behind in their other classes.

Each child now had a strong magical core. Each of them could perform wanded and wandless magic to some extent, ritual magic, earth magic, and spoke at least one demonic and one angelic language fluently. All the residents of Black Vineyard spoke fluent Elven, Gobblygook, and Latin. With the adults being mostly British, the Queen's English was spoken by all with a liberal dash of American idioms. Overall, they would be prepared when they left for Britain the first of June.

Over the years leading to their return, the adults had worked hard to learn the magics that they had never been exposed to in Britain. Those without innate magic had learned ritual and earth magic ad those who did have innate magic, specialized in a branch that was not taught at Hogwarts. Even if the children were not able to be with the adults, their education would be completed by Janna and those who had specialties. Joyce had received her mastery in Wizarding History and Mundane Studies and hoped to be able to teach at Hogwarts along with Severus and Janna. Giles would be available for any questions pertaining to demons or demonology. John was qualified to teach non-magical defense and fencing.

The years had not been without loss, though. Merrick and Diana were killed in fights with Master Vampires who had attacked Buffy and Faith when they were eight. Lady Black had passed away from a spider bite that she had not known she received until it was too late in 1989. Lady Lovegood had died in Britain and it was blamed on a spell testing accident in January of 1990. Arcturus and Xeno had both become heart sick after the deaths of their wives, but still struggled to remain for Harry and Luna's sakes. Marcus White had agreed to return to Britain to spend time with his cousin to help him in his grief.

Life continued, though. The children made friends, developed personalities, and most importantly, made mistakes and learned from them. The children were respectful of other cultures and other races. They had all spent time with the Romani, the Goblin Nation, and in the High Elves realm over the years. Sirius and Remus taught the children how to prank, but Regulus and Severus taught them how to avoid being a bully when doing pranks. The biggest rule was that no one be hurt by the pranks. The four agreed that pranking would help the children learn strategy.

The months after the celebration of Samhain flew by until it was the end of May. School would be finished in a few days and the morning of the first of June they had a plane to catch. It had been decided that the Potter Twins would join the others at Hogwarts so Dean would not be so alone, but their parents would stay in California. Emergency portkeys were made so the children could escape to the Potters in California if needed.

Bags were packed and shrunk. Each person was allowed one suitcase to hold the magically altered possessions and those items that could not be shrunken. Their flight was on a commercial airline but they would be using magical customs for both countries. Each person had their passport ready and Bella and Regulus had the document showing that they were American citizens and carried diplomatic visas. As such, they could not be arrested for acts that had been previously committed, but they could be refused entry into Britain. The Americas would explode if that happened, and it might lead to war. The lifetime ban from Britain had been lifted from Giles, and he was the only other person that they worried about being able to enter the country. Janna had found an amulet that allowed Spike to be in the sun and with the paperwork provided by officials in the Americas, he should have no problems either. The Goblins and High Elves would be returning to their realms before joining the others in Britain in two weeks' time.

On the morning of June 1st, 1991, a large group approached the magical customs department in LAX. Each person held dual citizenship for Mundane America, Mundane Great Britain, Magical Americas, and Magical Britain. The group contained twelve adults, thirteen children, five cats, four owls, and two snakes. Because the animals were magical in nature, they would not be subjected to the quarantine laws by either country. Customs inspections were quickly finished and the group was allowed onto the plane. The eleven animals would be placed on the plane by customs officials and removed the same way once they arrived. Although a direct flight was not available, they would have only a slight layover in New York without a plane change before continuing to London. The American Embassy in London would provide cars to take them to Black Hall upon their arrival.

The flight was long, but the children were kept occupied with hand held games and books. Sam, now ten, was the youngest, but he was prepared and spent the flight rereading the Lord of the Ring trilogy. Britain's magical customs was being manned by an American on the day they arrived, so very few knew that Britain's savior had returned home.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Professor McGonagall looked over the Great Hall and the students that were gathered with in. Hogwarts was in a horrible state. Even when the Marauders and Severus Snape were in the worst of their war against each other, was the amount of discord apparent. There were two week left of the school year, but none of the worst offenders would be graduates this year. The worst part of it all was that she had received scholastic records from three American students that would be transferring into Hogwarts in September. These students would be entering their third year and she could only pray to whichever of the gods who would listen that the Weasley Twins would not be behind an international incident. There were also several American ten year-olds who had been accepted with provisions. These children would have to prove that they had enough control to be able to use a wand, but the parents insisted that the children be accepted. They were all transfer students from Redwood Academy. With the children of American diplomats at Hogwarts, the odds of completing the next year with no problems were slim to none.

Severus Snape would be returning the next year as well. She could only hope that his gruff manner would not be offensive to the American students. She hoped that his grudge against James Potter had been gotten over, because Harry Potter would be attending Hogwarts as well.

She had stayed away from Harry's aunt and uncle's house because Albus said it would be for the best. She was heartbroken about Sirius betraying the Potters and fleeing justice. She was just happy that Harry was safe from the man with Lily's sister. The attention that was paid to Harry by Lord Black was disturbing, but he would be protected even from him at the Dursley home. Albus assured her that he checked on the boy regularly.

She decided that she would set up meetings with each of her lions between now and the end of the year to explain to them the importance of their behavior in the coming years. She would have to impress her lions with the need to treat the visitors with respect and the need to help them to fit in with the culture of the magical world. After all the Americans were not as advanced as those born in the magical world.

Albus Dumbledore attempted to keep his excitement in check. In just three short months he could put his plans back in place. Severus could be used to keep the children beaten down and with his allies in place, it would not be long before Harry Potter would be his to control. He had promises to keep and Harry Potter was the lynchpin to keep those promises.

Fawkes was close to a burning day. He would need to reinforce the spells that keep the phoenix under his control. The runes on his perch needed to be checked and his ashes needed to be treated. It would do no good to have Fawkes break free at this point. He would need to speak with Molly Weasley to make sure that she had the potions she needed to keep her part of the plan under control. Molly would need to give Ronald the potion laced food to give to Harry to ensure that he was ready for the memory wipe that Albus would perform the night of the sorting feast. He had already placed the spells on the sorting hat to ensure the child would be a Gryffindor. The demon the inhabited Quirell would be ready to torment Harry and play the part of Voldemort. Everything would go well.

The Angel Castiel had spent the last several years watching the Winchester brothers to attempt to understand them. He was pleased that the two had become friends with the ones that would also be involved in saving the world. He hoped that the spark that he saw between Sam and the dark slayer would grow into something that would be worthwhile. Currently, the children in question were residing in England, but he was not able to enter the location. He would be spending the next several weeks looking into different possible dangers in this new location so he could be prepared.

He knew that these people were doing God's work in their fight against the demons. He also knew that God created those who could use magic without demon deals. They were His children as much as anyone other humans and deserved to be helped. He decided that he would offer protection against possession at his first possible opportunity.

As he watched the location, he noticed that the female teacher was leaving the protection. He followed her for a time, but when it appeared that she would be returning, he stopped her.

"Janna Kalderash? My name is Castiel and I have an offer for you."

Crowley watched from the shadows of the crossroads as the deal was completed. It was rare to make deals with magicals, but even more so to deal with those with power. His underling, Sarah, had just brokered a deal with Evan Rosier. He asked for the knowledge to return his Lord from the dead for the price of his soul. Rather than the standard ten-year contract, he would have to pay the price in five years. The man was currently writing the information that Crowley had provided to Sarah to enable her to make the deal. Unless the man was much more resourceful than he appeared, the spell was useless. He would need bones of the father, flesh of the servant, and blood of the enemy which could all be found with a little luck, but he would also need a piece of the one being called back's spirit. Crowley knew that this particular spirit was being held in the lowest rings of hell and could not be summoned. If he did manage, what returned would be an abomination which both heaven and hell would spare nothing to hunt to destruction. Luckily, the man had only asked for knowledge, otherwise the deal could not have been made. Sometimes it was good being the King of the Crossroads.

The Romani Clans were on the move. Word had been spread to all of the Romani that all who could, should return home. All of the clans had decided that Janna Kalderash and the children she taught must be protected at all cost. No one would approach them directly, but they would interfere to provide any protection necessary. These children were the forerunners of a great change, and with this change, the world would return to the old ways. Rather than being on the outside looking in, the clans would have a front seat to the changes. The Romani would once again be sought by all worlds for their unique knowledge and they would be returning to their place of honor. One of their own had been accepted into Hogwarts once again, and that daughter would help Janna bring honor to the Romani again.

Reapers the world over waited in anticipation for Death's Master to gain his status. It would be happening soon. The Hallows would be united soon and once that occurred, Death could be freed from his bindings. For too long, the Reapers had lived an existence of collecting souls and ferrying them to their reward, but once Death was freed, they would once again be able to perform the task they were made for, judgement. If a soul was too damaged or too harmful, they would be able to reap it before its time. They would also be able to grant reprieves to those who had not finished their tasks in this life. Currently, they could only reap souls that the body had died. There was an overabundance of ghost trapped in this realm with no way of moving on once their business had been completed and this was painful for the Reapers. Soon the pain could be cleansed.

Quentin Travers paced in his office at the Watcher's Council headquarters just outside of London. His plans to control the two potentials from magical families had still not come to fruition. He needed these girls to be called and to die. What very few knew was that the strength of the slayer was based upon the strength of the previous slayer and how long they were able to survive. With magical slayers who died before they turned twenty, they would give the next mundane slayer a huge boost of strength. Since Nikki Woods was killed in the seventies by Spike of the Order of Aurelius, the strength of the slayer had been in decline. If he could harness the strength of a magical slayer, the line would continue for many years, but with two magical slayers so close together, it would last for another two to three centuries. These girls must be found and controlled. The alternative would be to begin another line with the merging of a demon and an innocent. The necessary spell was in the archives, but it would take several slayers before the girl would be controllable again.

His day began to look up when he received the message that Rupert Giles had reentered England earlier that day. He would need to contact Enda to check if Rupert had contacted his mother. Hopefully with the deaths of Merrick and Diana, Rupert had brought the girls to England to make a deal with the Council. Rupert had never been a strong man, and he had been all but broken when his wand was snapped on false charges. Quentin had always been proud of that piece of manipulation. He had been the one to inform the Wizengamot of the 'crimes' those people had committed and it was all bought completely by that fool, Albus Dumbledore. He had a little more than a year to retrieve the girls before they received their Hogwarts letter. Once they were enrolled in a magic school, all was lost.

In the Czech Republic, in a remote monastery, a lone monk watched over the being called Ben that was the vessel of the being known as Glorificus. The boy was now ten years old and showed no signs of becoming evil as those before him had become. The Monk's order had been established in the year 12 to safeguard the mystical energy called 'The Key'. His order had moved from place to place as Glorificus was born and overwhelmed her vessel time and again, but the order had lost so many that he feared that 'The Key' would soon become unsafe. They no longer had protection from the angels because of the turmoil in heaven and if Ben failed to keep Glorificus contained, she would be able to destroy them and gain possession of 'The Key'. Others in the Order of Dagon agreed with his fear and were searching for the means to protect it. The only plan that they currently had that showed hope was the give this energy a human form and send it to a protector of the people. He hoped that it would happen soon if that would be the path they chose. The sooner they decided the path, the safer the energy would be. If they sent it away at the first sign of Ben's failure, there would be less of a chance that the Hell Goddess would have a trail to follow.

He and his brethren had selected a family that was powerful to care for the energy if they needed, but they could not agree when to send it. Many felt that they should wait until the beast had found them and there was no other option, while others wanted to send her now. The monk turned his attention to the family that had been selected and watched as the new relationship moved to the next level. He used the sight to follow that path and realized that an opportunity had been given to them they could not pass up. The woman would become pregnant in the next several months, but the child would be lost. If the monks stepped in and placed the energy into the unborn child after the soul passed on but before the body died, the energy could become human for a time and be safe until Glorificus could be defeated. The child would live to an old age and when she passed on, the energy would move on to the afterlife as the soul it had become. He hurried to pass on what he had learned. There was much work to do for this plan to be fulfilled.

Over many years and many visits, Regulus Black had become a sort of friend to Gellert Grindelwald. From him, Regulus had learned the truth of the war between them. Gellert had spent the summer after he left Durmstrang in Godric's Hollow and had met the Dumbledore children. Albus had been attracted to Gellert, and they had spent many nights discussing what their future might hold. Albus became focused on the Deathly Hallows and thought that demonology might be the answer to finding them. Gellert stated it was too dangerous, but Albus insisted. When Gellert refused to aid in the summoning, Albus proceeded alone. After the ritual failed, Albus attacked Gellert and in the fight, Albus' sister was killed. Gellert did not see him again for years. Gellert was living a peaceful life in Germany, avoiding the machinations of Hitler and his minions, when he began reading about the horrible attacks that he was carrying out. Gellert swore to Regulus that he was innocent and had never owned the Elder Wand for Dumbledore to win from him. As Regulus left from that visit his mind was wheeling from the things he had learned.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

On the morning of June 5th, 1991, the residents of Black Hall were celebrating the eleventh birthday of one Draco Lucius Malfoy. The traditional full English breakfast was provided by excited house elves and on this day, Draco was seated at the head of the table. Arcturus had done the same when he visited California for Dean's eleventh birthday and he hoped to do the same for each of the children on their eleventh birthdays as well. As with Dean, he presented the key to Draco's new investment vault. He had set up one for each of the children with 1,000 galleons to be invested into stocks or businesses as they pleased. In the two years that Dean's had been open, he had invested in computer companies and the newly available internet providers. He had almost tripled his money. Arcturus hoped that the other children could do the same. He felt that money meant more when you earned it yourself.

After breakfast was completed, the children gathered in the large back garden to fly on their brooms. Sirius had insisted in teaching the children to fly when Sam turned two. Dean and Xander still preferred to be firmly on the ground, but the rest of the children enjoyed it.

Draco talked some of the adults into a quidditch match before lunch. It would be the adults versus the children. The adults' team was made of Giles as the keeper, Sirius and Regulus as the beaters, Lucius, Bella, and Spike as chasers, and Severus as the seeker. The children's team would be Dudley as keeper, Buffy and Faith as the beaters, Sam, Luna, and Draco as chasers, and Harry as seeker. Alice and Willow would be referees.

Both Dudley and Giles were wonderful keepers. It turned out that only about one in five of the shots on goal made it. Buffy and Faith were ruthless with the beater bats and were able to keep the adult chasers occupied for the most part, but Spike was able to move faster than the others on his broom, and scored all seven of his teams goals. Luna would sniffle when Sirius and Regulus would target her, so they avoided her to keep from seeing tears. She, Sam, and Draco worked well as a team, and soon the children were beating the adults one hundred to seventy. Severus and Harry ignored each other as they circled the pitch, searching for the small golden ball. They located it at nearly the same time and the race was on. Harry's advantage of being lighter than his father showed as he dove for the ball. Severus was right behind him and closing fast. At the last minute, Severus surged forward and both men grabbed the ball at the same time. Alice called the game with no points for the snitch which still had the children winning.

A laughing group reentered Black Hall when an owl flew in and landed in front of Draco. Draco removed the letter and those gathered around him, watched him open it. The seal on the letter listed Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as the sender. Lucius stopped him from opening it long enough to check for spells and charms before nodding that it was fine.

Mr. Draco Malfoy

Black Hall

Dear Mr. Malfoy,

I am pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of necessary books and equipment. Please send your reply by no later than July 31st.

Sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

Hogwarts School

With a squeal of joy, Draco began jumping in place. "Dud will get his later this month, then Nev and Harry the end of next month. When will we know about the others?"

"Minerva mentioned in passing when I was in her office yesterday that there would be several Americans coming to Hogwarts this year. Three third years and four that would need to be tested. She explained to me that they would likely be behind the others due to the substandard education available at Redwood Academy. The younger children would need testing because their cores were likely not strong enough to use a wand," Severus replied with a smirk. "I expect letters shortly to allow for the testing before the term begins."

"Can we go to Diagon Alley before the others get their letters? No one would expect Harry to buy his stuff almost two months before he gets his letter," Dudley asked quietly.

"That's a great idea, Duds. Maybe we can go next week, but now, everyone wash up and then to the dining room for lunch," Bella said rushing the children off to get cleaned up.

After lunch, Sirius and Regulus took the children to the park to burn off some energy while the others set up for the dinner party being held at Black Hall that night. The four boys who would turn eleven this year decided rather than being subjected to four separate balls to introduce them, they would share one ball and suffer together. The ball would be held in mid-August. Each boy would have a small dinner party in their honor since they were sharing the ball.

Draco's dinner party included the families from Black Vineyard, Lord Black, Lord Greengrass and his daughters Astoria and Daphne, Lady Bones and her niece Susan, Lord and Lady Parkinson and Pansy, Lord MacMillan and his grandson Ernest, and Lord Moody. Draco presented himself as a gracious host and everyone had a wonderful time. Astoria, call me Tori, and Buffy became fast friends while Willow and Daphne whispered to each other about the boys at the party. Faith, being the tomboy that she was, joined in with Xander, Sam, and Ernest, who asked to be called Ernie. Pansy complained about the girl from the mundane family that her parents reached out to assist as the old ways called for.

"The parents wouldn't even let us in the door. The girl said that she didn't need the help of bigots and slavers, and she would get by just fine without us. It was all Father could do to keep Mother from hexing the girl when she was yelling at us that we were evil for keeping slaves," Pansy ranted to Dudley, Draco, Harry, and Neville.

"I thought that slavery was illegal here too. Auntie Joyce said that Britain stopped slavery before we did in the Americas," Dudley pondered.

"Who is your slave, Pansy? What do you make them do? You have house elves so it can't be cleaning or cooking," Neville teased Pansy. The two had become close over the years when Lord Parkinson would bring her with him to visit Black Vineyard.

"She called the house elves slaves! We had brought Tillie with us to help if needed and I like Tillie. It took hours to get her to calm down after being called a slave. It was horrible. That horrible girl threw clothes at her and told her she could be free. Tillie was horrified. She refused to leave the manor for over a month."

"Poor Tillie. That is the reason that Grandpa Archie, I mean, Lord Black, says it is so important to bring back the old ways. If your father wanted, he could have challenged her father to a duel, and if he lost, taken all of their property. Did she not know what could happen? Did they not bother to read the information packs that come when they contact you for accidental magic?" Harry was irate at this. This situation is one that could be avoided if they would just read the info provided.

"I hope she refuses her Hogwart's letter. Uncle Severus will eat her alive. You know how he is about those who are willfully ignorant," Draco noted with a smirk.

"What was her name so I can avoid her. I have the feeling that I am going to be a target for those against the old ways because I wasn't taken in by another family. Besides, I am Harry's cousin. If they can say that Harry and I never had help outside of the family, when should they?" Dudley said with a huff.

"Hermione Granger. Really full of herself. Your uncle will hate her, Dud."

The children who were present for the dinner party were all reminded that for security sake, the story they had to pass along was that they had met that night. This would protect the children from being harassed by those trying to find out more of Harry's past and allow the children to have a reason for knowing Harry and the Americans before they began Hogwart's. They would all see each other again near the end of the month when Dudley turned eleven.

The trip to Diagon Alley the following week only had one problem. Ollivander's Wands refused to sell wands to any of the children who were not eleven except Harry and Luna. They were able to get their wands at eight because of their status as Heirs of a Most Ancient and Most Noble house. The others would need to return after their birthday or with a waiver.

Joyce and John went to Gringott's to receive waivers for their five children who needed one. They had obtained them and returned within minutes, and finally after two hours, everyone had obtained their wands except Neville and Dudley. The children were upset with the waste of time they spent that day. They all had been fitted with custom wands at eight, but custom wands were not allowed in Hogwarts, unfortunately.

After spending the day dealing with the backwards ways of the British Wizarding World, Lord Black knew that more work would need to be done to bring this world into the twentieth century before the rest of the world entered the twenty-first century. Equality was not a term that was used in this world and it had been a battle to reach the point that they had. There was as much resistance from those entering the world as from those born into it. Half of those born to mundane families embraced the new world and attempted to learn the traditions and customs of the world they were now a part of, but the other half fought against it and insisted that their way and beliefs were more important than anyone else set of beliefs. On the Wizarding side, most were aware, thanks to the efforts of Lord Black and Lord Lovegood, that mundane born children were needed to keep magic strong but many took offence when their culture and traditions were dismissed out of hand with those that dismissed them pushed their own down the throats of those dismissed.

Xeno had discovered that staff at Hogwarts were the cause of many of the problem students. Horace Slughorn had been sent to contact children before the assigned representative could make contact and the result were several families like the Grangers. Since a professor had said it, there was no arguing the validity. Professor Slughorn had been called before the Wizengamot and ordered to cease and desist further contact with any family unless directed by the Wizengamot. Albus Dumbledore was ordered to keep his professors from contacting families until the Hogwarts letters were sent out. Hopefully, the families could be contacted before the information was corrupted now.

The 23rd of June progressed much like the 5th of June, only Dudley was the child turning eleven. The residents of Black Hall were treated to a full English breakfast, flights on their brooms, a trip to the park, and finally, Dudley's dinner party. Most of the guest were the same as had attended the dinner party for Draco, but the Zabini family had been included to this gathering.

The Zabini family was Italian, but had several business ventures in both California and Britain. The children had met the family through a Zabini cousin who attended Redwood the summer between first and second grade, and the youngest son, Blaise, became friends quickly with Dudley and Sam. He warmed to the others after he realized that they truly did follow the old ways. The Zabini family had followed the old ways as far back as any records existed and they had been fostered by the Pervell family. Blaise was happy to pass along information to Harry about the Pervell family when he heard that Harry knew very little about the family he would become Head.

Daphne Greengrass brought a story of the family they mentored this time. The family name was Thomas and the oldest son would be attending Hogwarts in the fall. Daphne said the Dean Thomas and his brother, Lawrence, were excited to learn everything they could about the new world that they would now be a part of, but the mother was resisting with everything she had. The mother was Catholic and believed that 'thou shall not suffer a witch to live'. Lord Greengrass was in the process of removing the children from the house when the mother attacked her children and killed the younger brother. Dean was injured, but he was recovering at St. Mungo's. His mother had her memories altered to show that she had killed both children and was pushed to turn herself in. She pled guilty in return for mental health treatment in a secure facility. She would never be released.

Pansy was still complaining about the Granger family. Lord Parkinson had returned to the home after the tragedy with the Thomas family to check in and offer to accompany the family to Diagon Alley, and Mr. Granger threatened him with a gun. The police had been called and Mr. Granger had been arrested for possession of an illegal firearm. The Special Services Division of the Royal Guard arrived and Mrs. Granger had been warned if she and her daughter continued with their blatant discrimination and targeting of the magical race, the child would be removed from the household. They could not prosecute her, but since the child was magical, she could be removed for her own safety. A mundane born guard stayed to speak with them and take them to the Alley. Lord Parkinson was thanked for his attempt to aid the family, but asked not to return unless he was asked for by Hermione.

Griphook and Lord Dobbyn spent their time away working on plans and counterplans to be sure that they could keep Harry Potter from harm. Griphook would be stationed in Hogsmeade at the newly opened blacksmith along with a squadron of the Nation's warriors. Lord Dobbyn's High Elf warriors would also be stationed there. With two full squadrons in Hogsmeade, they felt that they could be at Harry's side if needed within minutes. They hoped that would be soon enough. Lord Dobbyn would accompany the children on the train and each of the American children would be assigned an Elven guard while in Hogwarts. Lord Dobbyn was pleased that Castiel had given each of them angelic protection from demonic possession, but he hoped that he could find someone to give protection against angelic possession without the cost being too high. His father was searching for someone that he had worked with in the past, but so far he had not had any luck. They hoped to have an answer by the middle of August.

On July 30th, Neville turned eleven. Rather than the birthday that Dudley and Draco had celebrated, Neville and Harry chose to spend the day of Neville's birthday at the zoo and on Harry's birthday the next day at an amusement park. Each would have dinner parties in their honor and their mutual guest would spend the night so they could get an early start.

Many of the children invited had never experienced a mundane zoo. They were awed at the animals and spent time looking at each enclosure. They spent the most time in the petting zoo. Luna soon had a lamb in her lap and was surrounded by other animals vying for her attention. Harry was also overwhelmed by the animals, but he was used to it from the attention that he had received over the years by the animals that had moved to Black Vineyard in the years he had lived there. Neville laughed as Harry was unable to move because of the throng of animals surrounding him, but quieted quickly when some of the animals turned their attention on him.

The group returned to Black Hall and readied for the dinner party. Dean Thomas had not joined them at the zoo, but attended the dinner party. He was shy and seemed uncomfortable, but soon Xander and Sam were able to bring him out of his shell. He was included in the discussions of the others and was eventually convinced to share his story.

"Lord Greengrass came to our house and explained things to us when I first started showing signs of magic. Mum was fine about it for the first couple of years, even when Larry began showing signs, too. Then we got a new priest at church. I caught him being inappropriate with Larry and told mum. She stormed the church and when she came home, she accused me of making it up. She locked Larry and I in our rooms and brought the priest in. He claimed to perform an exorcism, but mum just kept getting worse. When Lord Greengrass came to check on us the next time, she lost it. We were scared and so Lord Greengrass was taking us somewhere to wait for the Aurors and mom pulled a knife and started stabbing us. Lord Greengrass grabbed us and got us to St Mungo's, but it was too late for Larry. It took ten days for me to be healed enough to be able to leave. I live with them now. I miss how mum used to be, but that woman that she became was nuts!"

The children closed ranks around him and came to an unspoken agreement that they would protect him from the cruelty that many would hurl towards him when they found out his story. The priest meeting with Dean's mother and then her changing her beliefs so completely afterwards was strange, and Willow made a note to tell Mom when she had a moment.

The adult guests were given rooms in the Hall for the evening, but all the children chose to pull out the sleeping bags and sleep together in the back garden. The talk turned to the houses they thought they would be in once at Hogwarts. Draco claimed he would be selected for Slytherin within ten seconds. Dean, the older, Buffy, and the Potter twins claimed they would be Gryffindor. Susan and Neville claimed Hufflepuff would be their house. Willow and Luna were sure that they would be in Ravenclaw. Daphne, Pansy, Blaise, and Faith thought they would be Slytherin, but could be Ravenclaw as well. Dudley, Dean (the younger), Sam, and Astoria had no clue which house would be theirs, and Xander was still sure that they would send him away once they tried to sort him and found him lacking. Harry on the other hand would be happy in any house and felt he could fit in with any of the houses. The others teased him about it, but he stayed steadfast in his belief. He really wanted to be in Slytherin so he could be close to his father without seeming like a baby.

The children were awakened before dawn for a huge breakfast and to catch their portkey to the amusement park. It was hard to decide who had the most fun, the children or the adults. They were met at the entrance by the Tonks family. Dora had just finished her final year at Hogwarts and would be becoming an apprentice to Severus in Defense. She had originally hoped to become an Auror, but now she hoped that she could gain her defense mastery and then her potions mastery before gaining her mundane teaching credentials and moving to California. She wished that she had taken the offer to move to California years ago, but she was glad she had stayed to be able to inform the others of what to watch for at Hogwarts.

Dora had received several marriage contracts when she had been outed as a metamophmagus in her fourth year by Professor Dumbledore. A student had been attacked and the accused party claimed innocence. When it was proven that the accused had been in a detention with Professor Flitwick at the time of the attack, Dora was accused by Dumbledore because of her abilities. She was arrested in the Great Hall during dinner with the entire school looking on and the Aurors refused to allow her to contact her Head of House for three days while she was questioned. Barty Crouch had failed to file the paperwork showing that she was a Daughter of House Black and so Lord Black being contacted was delayed. Dora was cleared of all charges and Dumbledore received a slap on the wrist for his involvement. The guilty party was a seventh year Gryffindor student and Dumbledore accused Dora to protect him. Crouch was found to have destroyed any correspondence enter in Ministry regarding the restoration of the Tonks family into House Black. Papers were found showing Sirius being hunted for the kidnapping of Neville and Alice Longbottom and the attempted kidnapping of Harry Potter. Regulus and Bellatrix were still wanted for crimes committed under Tom Riddle's reign of terror. The Americans stepped in an under threat of war had the charges dropped with apologies, but still issued diplomatic papers for each of them. Because of this, everyone in the Wizarding World of Britain believed that Harry grew up at his aunt's house.

The children were split into four groups with five in the first three groups and four plus Dora in the last group. Severus insisted on this because Dora would be his apprentice and therefore under his control until the contract or contracts in this case had been completed. The first group included Xander, Sam, Neville, Buffy, and Adam. The second was made up of Willow, Faith, Blaise, Dean Thomas, and Angela. The third group consisted of Dean, Astoria, Pansy, Dudley, and Susan. The fourth group was Harry, Luna, Daphne, Draco, and Dora. Each group had a cell phone so they could keep in touch with the adults. One of the adults would be in the food court area at all times. The children rode rides and played games until they were drug away to prepare for the dinner party that night. They agreed that they would attempt to return before the term began at Hogwarts.

Harry's dinner party was slightly more formal than those of Dudley, Draco, and Neville due to his status. He was required to make a speech during the dinner. He waited until afters were served before standing and tapping his glass to gain the attention of everyone in the room.

"I would like to thank all of you for being here tonight. I may be only eleven, but my friends and I will be embarking on an important journey in a months' time. We would like to thank all of you for your assistance in getting us to this point. On the night that James Potter and Lily Potter-Snape were murdered a few people realized that a change needed to be made in our world. My friends and I have been raised to follow the old ways. We all were raised with the traditional rituals and knowledge. We give thanks to the deities of old and we give sacrifice to them as needed. The place where we grew up is one that accepts all cultures and all people with tolerance and love. Our teacher from the time we began school is a Romani born with the ability to wield a wand. We were protected, taught, and loved by members of the Goblin Nation and the Realm of the High Elves. Our house elves work for us because we love them and they love us in return. We lived in a society that embraced the diversity of its people and used the differences between us to make us stronger. The first steps have been made to strengthen the society of magical Britain and with your help, we will be as strong in our diversity as those who live in the Americas are. Look at those around you. To an outsider, this group will appear to be a group of purebloods, but we know the truth. Take Draco Malfoy and Dean Thomas; I consider both of these people my friends. Do I feel that my friendship with Draco is stronger than my friendship with Dean? Yes, but only because my friendship with Dean is newer. Is my friendship with either more important? No. I would fight battles for either of them. Is Dudley more important to me than Sam? No. I call them both family even though I share blood closely with only one of them. I ask those of you here to assist me in my goals of bringing equality in the Wizarding World. My Aunt Joyce and Uncle John are both mundane but they are still members of our world. I have issue with them not having the same rights as Uncle Lucius and Aunt Narcissa. It is wrong that when we go to Hogwarts in a month, Draco will have better standing than Buffy because her mother was born cut off from her magical core. Buffy and Faith should be considered lower than Luna and I but higher than most everyone else because they are Daughters of a Most Ancient and Most Noble House. I don't feel that this makes us better than the others, but it does give us a greater responsibility to others. Houses Black, Lovegood, Potter, Pervell, Slytherin, and Gryffindor were established long ago and given great responsibility in this world. We are required to protect those who need protection. The members of these Houses must do our duty and in doing so, show those of the other Noble tiers that we are not above our responsibilities and they should not be either. Thank you again for your support."

Harry sat down and lowered his head before turning bright red as those present began to clap. Harry's short speech had touched the hearts of those who heard his words. Even though those gathered believed the same things that he did, he moved them into action. The Lords and Ladies present for this speech would begin ensuring that their children and nieces and nephews understood their responsibilities and no longer over looked them.

Harry and Sirius left early the next morning to visit Gringott's. Harry greeted each Goblin that he met in the traditional manner of their station spoken in fluent Gobblygook. He and Sirius were led to a chamber and asked to wait. In few moments later, a squad of warriors entered surrounding Griphook and Lord Gringott.

"Welcome home, Lord Potter. May your enemies fall to your sword and your gold flow with your victories," Lord Gringott greeted.

"May we sing your victories for generations and your children's children know of your many talents!" Harry greeted in return.

"As is tradition, these proceedings shall be held in the Queen's tongue. Let the record note that Master Sirius Black is in attendance as a member of the family of the Six Houses. Tradition dictates that after the eleventh anniversary of a member of the Six Houses' birth, the child shall be tested by blood to insure all titles shall be rightfully claimed. This test may be performed by Gringott's London or the Ministry of Magic by the order of the Kings and Queens of Britain. The parchments have been prepared and we will need from you, Lord Potter, a drop of blood for each sheet," Lord Gringott spoke in his formal voice.

Harry held his hand to the Goblin with his palm up. Lord Gringott removed a dagger from the table and slashed across the palm. Harry closed his hand and held it over each of the ten parchments lying on the table and allowed one drop of blood to fall on each. As the blood touched each sheet, lines began forming and word began to appear. Harry and Sirius watched as the words became readable.

Harry Potter-Prince, Lord Potter – by right of birth to his father, James Potter

Harry Potter-Prince, Lord Pervell – by right of birth to his father, James Potter

Harry Potter-Prince, Lord Gryffindor – by right of birth to his father, James Potter

Harry Potter-Prince, Lord Slytherin – by right of birth to his mother, Lily Potter nee Evans

Harry Potter-Prince, Lord Gaunt – by right of conquest of Tom Riddle

Harry Potter-Prince, Heir Prince – by right of birth to his father, Severus Snape

Harry Potter-Prince, Heir Black – by right of birth to his grandmother, Dorea Potter nee Black and choice of his cousin, Arcturus Black

Harry Potter-Prince, Heir Apparent Lovegood – by right of marriage contract to Luna Lovegood

The parchments then began to list alliances and contracts pertaining to each of the houses. But Sirius and Harry had both stopped reading after the line about the Lovegoods. They were both in shock about Harry being Lord Gaunt. A courier entered the room and spoke briefly with Lord Gringott.

"Lord Potter, one parchment will be filed with the Ministry and one with Hogwarts on the 1st of September. We shall place one in each vault affected by this ruling and here is a copy for your review. I have received word that Professor Dumbledore is in the lobby attempting to enter the Potter vaults. I shall have him blocked, but it would be better if you leave by floo. Griphook will lead you. Thank you for your visit to Gringott's today. May you always live in interesting times."

"May your business bring you gold and riches, and your enemies tremble at your name." Harry bowed and turned to follow Griphook.

The next two weeks were spent in a rush. The younger children were called to Hogwarts for their cores to be tested. Shopping trips happened on several days to insure that everyone had enough supplies and clothing to cover them until Yule. Bella and Sirius insured that the NEC portable computers that they had supplied for the children, Janna, and Severus would work at Hogwarts and that the home computer that was installed at Black Hall could connect via the magical modem that Bella had helped design. Bella had fell in love with the mundane electronics she had encountered during her time in America. She and a group of people she met in her classes at Redwood had great success either adapting the equipment to be able to work in high magic areas or making magical equivalents for those areas. The Quibbler was prepared completely on computer and one copy printed before magical copies were made. The publishing process changed from a two to three-day ordeal to a matter of several hours. Thanks to the improvements that Bella, and later Sirius and Remus, had made, The Quibbler had become a daily paper that challenged the Daily Prophet for largest circulation. Xeno announced his intentions to enroll Luna a year early due to the clauses in her marriage contract. Because of his association with House Black and the popularity of his paper, he was well respected rather than ridiculed as he had once been. Invitations to the children's ball had been delivered and responses received. New dress robes had been custom made for the children and adults. That night, Draco, Dudley, Neville, and Harry would be presented to society.

It was decided that the ball would begin at 7 pm on the night of August 15th, 1991. The floo would be opened at 6:30 pm for guests with Goblins standing guard and checking the guest list and invitations. At 7:30, a Lord Black stepped from the receiving line and called for attention.

"Please be welcomed to Black Hall, seat of House Black. Tonight we will welcome several new members to our society, but first, I would like to introduce several people who have joined us from the Americas. Lord John Winchester, House Winchester and his sons, Dean and Samuel. I would also like to introduce a newly found Daughter Black, Joyce Summers-Black, her daughters, Faith, Buffy, and Willow, and her son, Alexander. We have among us several special guests. May I introduce Lord Dobbyn of the High Elves and Lord Gringott of the Goblin Nation? I would also like to introduce Griphook of the Goblin Nation. House Black would like to aid us in welcoming Draco Malfoy, Heir Malfoy to society. Dudley Dursley, ward of both House Black and House Prince to society. Neville Longbottom, Lord Longbottom to society. Harridan Potter, Lord Potter to society. Please be seated and enjoy your meal."

The ball severed several purposes. Now the children had an official reason to have met and it would keep suspicion from happening when they arrived at Hogwarts. House Black had shown that they had ties to the Goblin Nation and the Realm of the High Elves. But, most importantly, House Winchester had officially entered society along with three of the four most influential students who would be attending Hogwarts in less than one month. The guests were so overwhelmed by the Americans and special guests that no one noticed that Bella, Sirius, Andromeda, and Regulus were in attendance or that Harry, Draco, and Neville spoke with the same accent as the American children there.

 **Note: Next chapter we will arrive at Hogwarts. Any suggestions to Houses for the children are more than welcome.**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Bella sighed as she watched the House Elves load trunks into the enhanced boot of the car. She had spent the last ten years with the children and now they would be going away. Ten years ago, she would have never thought that these kids would become the driving force in her life, but from the moment that Harry had removed the Dark Mark from her arm by claiming her as his own, she had become a different person. She had become an enchantress of renown over the years and she would be continuing her work while in England, but it would not be the same. Harry, Dudley, and Draco were the inspiration for her work and she would often wait for their return from school or lessons to show them her newest project. Now her babies were leaving her to begin their education at Hogwarts. Not only would Bella miss them, but she was worried for them as well. She knew that they would be in different houses and would make new friends, but she hoped that the children, especially the three she claimed as her own, would be able to stay close. Draco would be either Slytherin or Ravenclaw and there was little doubt that Dudley would be Hufflepuff. Harry could go anywhere, but if Dumbles had any say in it, he would be a Gryffindor. Of the other children, which she considered nieces and nephews, she could mark only Luna and Faith as possible Slytherin candidates, but Luna could very well be Ravenclaw, and Faith could go to Gryffindor with Buffy. Dean and the Potter twins she thought would be Gryffindor, while Willow was Ravenclaw through and through and Neville and Xander were more than likely going to Hufflepuff with Dudley. She would not be going to King's Cross that morning, but promised the children she would be there to retrieve them at Yule. With hugs and promises to instant message her that night, she continued to watch as the people who had become her life loaded in the car that would take them into possible danger. Bella said a prayer to Abeona, the Roman goddess, to watch over her children while they were away.

Spike, formally known as William Malfoy and William the Bloody, watched as the car was loaded. Since his return to the Wizarding World he had become a force to be reckoned with. He had regained his magic after being separated from Dru and taken to his protection duties of Buffy and Faith with abandon. He was very protective of the ladies of Black Vineyard and they treated him like he was family. The past several years had been good for him, but he was still uneasy about returning to Hogwarts. Officially, he was protection detail for the children of the American dignitaries who would be at the school, but unofficially, he would do his best to protect all of the children enrolled at Hogwarts. Since the return of his magic, he only needed blood once a day or if he was injured, but after an injury two years ago, he found that Goblin or High Elf blood could sustain him with no problem for a week, and that was off only several sips. Once a week, he would meet with a Goblin or High Elf at their location in Hogsmeade for either donated bagged blood or a goblet of blood from a willing donor. His food intake increased when he feed like this, but he was fond of human and Goblin food, so it caused no inconvenience. The worst part of his new mission was that it would take him away from Joyce and Bella. Joyce was the mother figure to them all, with the exception of John. John had stolen Joyce's heart, but she assured Spike that she was happy, which was all that mattered. Bella reminded him of a sane version of Dru with her child like joy at each new discovery and her hair trigger when someone threatened someone she loved. Spike turned his attention to the lady in question and watched while she spent a moment with each of the children. Spike saw the tears in both Bella and Harry's eyes as they hugged one last time before Bella turned away to reenter Black Hall. He would ask Joyce to keep an eye on her for him. Only because of the children, of course.

Rupert Giles lifted his bag to his shoulder and joined the Goblin squad as they waited for the car to pull away. He would be in Hogsmeade, working at the store the Goblins had arranged to sell the wares that they created at the smithy. Lord Gringott had requested him for this job specifically due to his ease in relating to the Goblin Nation and the fact that his accent was not peppered with American colloquialisms as was the other British expatriates in the group. This would allow him to be close without being at Hogwarts and also create a buffer between the wizards and Goblins. If Buffy or Faith were called, he would be able to step in as Watcher and keep the Council from becoming involved, or at least, that was the plan. He could also give Spike a much needed break when necessary. He and Janna had become close over the years since she came into their lives and being stationed in Hogsmeade would allow their relationship to grow, he hoped. He was shaken from his thoughts when Griphook began counting down the portkey's activation.

Joyce Summers was a practical woman. She and John Winchester had dance around one another for years before she finally put her foot down and told him that she cared for him as a woman cares for a man. She knew when she told him, he would either return her feelings or run. He didn't run. They had been dating for several years now, but she knew that John would be going back to America to help his friend Bobby hunt. The hunt was in John's blood and he was determined to make the world safe for not only his sons, but her and her brood as well. His protective streak just served to make Joyce love him more. She was supposed to accompany the children to King's Cross this morning, but she had been sick when she woke this morning and john insisted that she stay home and rest. Andy would be to check on her tomorrow if she was not better. She said her goodbyes to the children and wished them luck before saying goodbye to John. His portkey would be leaving soon and he promised to call her each night until he was able to come home to her. Joyce said a prayer to which ever gods would listen that John and the children would be safe until she saw them again in December.

John Winchester was a man on a mission. Bobby had problems with a nest of vampires in his area and the nest was too large to handle along. He hated to leave Joyce, but he was determined to make sure that if either of her girls were called there would be several less vampires to threaten them. He was nervous about leaving his family in a different country without being there to protect them, but Lord Black insisted that they would be protected. Dean was 14 now and had trained with many of the same people that he had, but Dean had several types of magic to fall back on and his friends would make sure that Dean and Sammy were safe. If appearances held true, he and young Harry would be negotiating a marriage contract between Dean and Angela in a year or two. He didn't think that they would marry until they had both finished college, but the spark was there. John could care less who his son's ended up with, as long as they were happy. His portkey activated and he realized he missed Joyce already. He would approach Marcus White and Lord Black when he returned to begin negotiations on his own contract.

Regulus Black loved his life. In the past ten years he had changed utterly from the boy who had joined the Death Eaters. He had friends and family who he loved and they loved him in return. He had surrogate nieces and nephews who he would give his life to protect. He was a part of the changes that were occurring in the world. He continued to learn new things and expand on old knowledge. His life was amazing. He, like Bella, was experiencing a sense of loss this morning as he watched the household ready themselves for the trip to King's Cross and then to Hogwarts. He had known when he accepted the offer of the Powers That Be to return to protect Harry Potter that is life would be different, but he never expected the changes to be so great. He thought he would have Harry and hopefully Sirius, and that would have been more than he wished for, but the addition of the others was a blessing from the gods. His life was now heading to Hogwarts to live with that man. For the first time in almost ten years, Regulus was at odds with himself. Ninety percent of him wanted to take the children and run back to California and destroy anyone who came near, but that other ten percent wanted to see how Harry would deal with the bastard. As he pulled away from Black Hall and onto the roadway, he pled silently with Frigga to protect the children and the All-father to watch over them all.

Sirius had grown up over the years, but in his heart his was still a Marauder. He loved his godson and the children at Black Vineyard. They were the closest thing to children of his own that he would ever have. Just out of Hogwarts he had been asked by a couple to donate sperm for their child and he agreed only to find that he was sterile. Then he found out that it had affected Reggie too and was caused from his parents being so closely related. This was one of the many reasons that Harry was named Heir rather than either he or Reggie. For all of his grandfather's grand standing, he knew that Harry was chosen rather than Draco because Harry looked more like a member of House Black than Draco and at the time, he feared Draco would follow in Lucius footsteps. Sirius elected to travel as Padfoot for this trip and was currently in the floor of the backseat of the limousine in a pile with the various cats and snakes belonging to the children. Loki was the patron that he had chosen long ago and few still remembered that the trickster god was fond of children, especially those who enjoyed a prank. He said a prayer to his patron to watch over his godson and his friends.

Lucius Malfoy was born with a cold and calculating streak and it not changed over the years, except to grow larger. It was rare that he turned that streak against those of Black Vineyard, but on occasion, he used it to plan pranks on them. Currently, this piece of Lucius' personality was working towards the plans he had for revamping Hogwarts. After spending time in America and seeing what Draco had learned at Redwood, he realized that Hogwarts was far from the premier school that it had been in the past. The tuition had increased several times over the years, but the services offered had decreased to a point that the school now only provided room, board, and teachers. Severus had to purchase all of his potion supplies out of pocket or deal with the horrible ones that the school owned, cauldrons and stirrers that had been there since their parents attended. Ingredients for the potions for the infirmary were included on the list of things that Severus needed to supply was the last straw. Lucius had used the contacts he had made while in residence at Black Vineyard to request an audit of Hogwarts and those results would be available this afternoon. If the results were as he suspected, Dumbledore better pray to any who would listen, because Lord Malfoy would utterly destroy him, prophecy or not.

Alice Longbottom, notebook and pen in hand, sat next to her son on the trip to King's Cross. Neville was helping her make notes for the newest book that she was beginning. While in America, she had begun writing the stories that she told the boys each night before bed. The children encouraged her to sell her stories and it went from there. She had selected the pen name of A.N. Franklin and was a best-selling children's author. Her last book was in the running for a Newberry Award but she did not think that she would win. She was worried that Neville would be in danger at Hogwarts, but she knew that Harry and Draco would not allow Neville to be bullied; it was not in their nature to allow a friend to suffer. She would miss him while he was away, but she had her book to concentrate on, and Joyce and Bella would be with her. She also needed to reopen Longbottom Manor. Maybe they could hold either Yule or New Year there this year.

Narcissa Malfoy held her mask as she and the others entered the busy train terminal. They were all dressed in mundane clothing and had chosen to come his way rather than through the Floo system so the children could have the entire experience. As the group approached, she saw Molly Weasley and her brood walking through the crowds, speaking of muggles. It was madness, but it had definite merit. If Harry had lived with Petunia and Vernon all this time, he might likely need directions, but to flaunt the Statute of Secrecy so was beyond insane. She paused to watch Molly look about and then prattle on about muggles more. She pointed the behavior out to Regulus and Lucius which in turn lead the children more quickly through the crowds. She sighed as she noticed Molly Weasley's youngest child was a girl. She and Lucius had decided to try for another child now that they had returned to England full time. Another shrill comment about muggles reached her as she crossed the barrier into Platform 9 and ¾. It was a shame that such a fine family had fallen so. Narcissa remembered being shocked when House Weasley announced the binding between Arthur and Molly. While House Prewett was the same rank, Arthur could have made a much better match due to his close relation to House Black through his mother. Rumor stated the use of love potions and William being conceived prior to their binding, growing exponentially after Lord Weasley had named the child his Heir. She suspected that Lady Weasley was behind the decision, and felt it was a wise move if the rumors turned out to be true. Her mask fell while she made her goodbyes to the children, but was firmly back in place when she stood to watch them off.

Severus paced in his rooms as the eleven o'clock hour approached and then passed. He knew that his pacing would continue until the children arrived at Hogwarts. He took comfort in the fact that Spike and Janna would be on the train with them, but still worried about the different factions and how they would react to his son. There were several children of Death Eaters who would be on the train, and several of Dumbledore's supporters as well. Janna had promised memories should anything happen. Dumbledore, the manipulative old goat, had briefed him when he arrived last week about the incoming group. Dumbles brought up the fact that James Potter's son would be arriving this year and that Severus would be required to keep his cover so when the Dark Lord returned, he could continue to spy for the light. The man intended to use _him_ to make Harry's life miserable. Severus would follow Harry's lead one he arrived. Depending on the trip went, Harry could be either extremely excited or deeply furious, and either could go badly for their plans.

Janna followed the children to the last car of the train. It seemed that no one but Harry, Neville, and Luna initially saw the car, but they made sure that everyone from their group was included. Luna stood near the door to call others over, such as Daphne Greengrass, Blaise Zabini, and Pansy Parkinson. Luna called over a set of twins and once they entered the train car, shut the door behind her. Janna watched as the eighteen children made themselves comfortable. After seeing Spike take up guard at the door, she removed a book from her bag and settled in for the long ride ahead of her.

Dean Winchester kept an eye on his siblings and cousins. They had been together since Sammy was a baby, and with Dad and Joyce dating, the four Summers-Black children were practically Winchesters now. Luna introduced them to the new set of twins that she had brought in, Fred and George. They were about the same age as himself, Adam, and Angela and would be able to give them the lay of the land so to speak. They reminded him of Sirius. He began asking questions about Hogwarts and the students there, and in return, he was asked about the Americas and how magic was treated there. The group of five spent the trip to Scotland in deep conversation comparing the American laws concerning magic and those in Britain.

Adam Potter fell easily into the conversation that his best friend and the new twins had begun. Fred and George were a wellspring of knowledge of Hogwarts. He looked at Luna and nodded a silent thanks to her as she leaned into Harry's shoulder and closed her eyes. Life had changed for the better since Harry became Lord Potter. He made a silent promise to protect Harry anyway he could.

Angela Potter had never been able to make friends easily. The group from Black Vineyard were family as well as friends, and they didn't count. She felt that they only included her because she was family, but Fred and George asked her questions and for her opinion right along with the others. Maybe Hogwarts was the right decision for her and Adam. She would be with her family and possibly make some new friends too. She only hoped that the girls at the school were as nice as these two boys were. The younger ones that she had met were nice, but she wanted a friend who was a girl and her same age. Just then, she was asked to break the tie in the argument over which was better, quodpot or quidditch. When she answered that quodpot was better, but she would rather watch hockey, the conversation turned to mundane sports.

Draco Malfoy sat on the opposite side of Harry from Luna. It seemed that other than Nev, Harry, and Luna, no one knew that they were in the Founder's Car. Only those who were Heirs of the Founders or their guests could see the car, must less access it. He worried that he and Harry would grow apart when they were put in different houses. Draco spent most of the trip to Hogwarts in silent contemplation of this topic, but as the train slowed to approach Hogsmeade Station, he made a vow to remain best friends with Harry, regardless of any trouble that it might cost him, because Harry would do the same for him.

Dudley Dursley was overwhelmed. Despite spending most of his life in a magical house with magical people, he had never been without mundane conveniences. He knew that the computer that Auntie Bella had given him this morning and the handheld systems that they had had for years would be a comfort, but he would miss things like microwaves and television. Auntie Bella had promised a marathon of ER when they returned for Yule, but that would not be the same as before. He would miss talking to Giles and John about normal stuff like football, American football not soccer, and hockey. He would miss Auntie Bella tucking him in at night and Auntie Joyce making sure that he not only did his homework, but understood it too. He had been too young and in shock when Uncle Sev took him in and saved him. He and Luna had discussed the difference in him that the death of his parents had made. Luna told him that she had seen three paths for him. On the first, Harry had never known Uncle Sev as his father and had grown up with the Dursley family. It had been horrible. He hated Harry and magic, and because of that, his magic had killed him at an early age. The second path was better. Harry had grown up much the way they all had, at Black Vineyard, and the Dursley's visited often, but without constant contact with Harry, Dudley had not gained magic until he was older, and he had died in his twenties because he was untrained. This path was best, although his parents died. His magic showed at the proper time and he was a wizard. He would be able to help Harry and their friends and become a good person. He smiled as he watched the others straighten up before they left the train as a group, followed by Spike and Ms. Janna.

Faith Summer-Black felt the tingle of the wards as they followed the large man named Hagrid towards the boats. Once in his care, Janna had taken a carriage to the school to wait for the sorting. Spike stood near them, but far enough away that they did not feel crowded. Hagrid announced that he wanted four per boat and Faith joined Buffy, Willow, and Daphne. Dean, Adam, and Angela were with them despite not being first years since they were transfer students and needed sorting. Hogwarts itself felt warm and inviting even though it was a thousand-year-old castle. She smiled as the boats started forward. She was with her sisters and even if they ended up in different houses, they would still be together.

Xander Summers-Black looked around in awe. He still felt out of place, but he would make the best of things. Mom had pulled him aside last night and asked him to look out for his sisters. He had a responsibility now and he would do everything that he could to make sure his sisters were safe. As the boats arrived, he did a quick weapons check and asked in Gobblygook if the others had theirs as well. Only his training with the High Elves and Goblins allowed him to grab Luna when she fainted. The moment that she began to fall, he reflexively when entered combat mode, pushing in front of the others. He was joined by Spike with both of them with swords drawn and eyes scanning for a threat. A glance showed that Harry and Neville were down as well with Draco and Faith standing guard over them. Buffy had a sword held to Hagrid's throat and Dean and the Potter twins guarding the door. Blaise, Dudley, and Sam moved into position to guard the rear, while Daphne, Willow, and Pansy checked on the fallen.

Buffy Summers-Black was the smallest of the children who called Black Vineyard home. Their instructors felt that since she and Faith were Potential Slayers, they would need to be trained to engage large opponents. When Luna dropped, Buffy did what came natural, and attacked the largest foe. Since she was unsure as to the cause of the threat, she moved to disable rather than to kill. Tension was high and Buffy wanted to make sure that no innocent was harmed, so she shouted to Willow to help the other students in Elven. Everything was beginning to come under control when the door opened. The stern looking lady, Professor McGonagall, pulled her wand and all hell broke loose. Dean charged her, sword in hand, and looked about to run her through when Spike interceded. Adam and Angela moved to keep her from their fallen friends at knife point. Then the ghosts appeared.

Willow Summers-Black had calmed the other students when Professor McGonagall entered the room. Spike kept her from safe from Dean for the moment, when those horrible ghost entered the room. Willow began to shake and shiver. Her empathy was under control for the most part and had been since she moved in to Black Vineyard, but exposure to necromancy caused her shields to fail. These four ghosts were being held against their will and the laws of nature. On reflex, Willow began a chant in Latin to send the ghosts on. As she chanted, the color began to drain from her hair, turning it solid white. Additional ghost began to enter the room, and one by one, Willow began freeing them from the binds that had been placed on them. Five minutes was all it took for Willow to free the twenty-five ghosts being held at Hogwarts and as the last ghost was freed, Willow collapsed.

Sam Winchester ran to Willow's side after she collapsed. He held her as the color began to slowly return to her and glared at the Professor who still stood near the door. When the Professor began to speak, Sam cut her off. "You need to get medical assistance for these people, Madame. You have four students, two ten and two eleven, laying on the floor, and you want to scold. I will be calling my father, Lord Black, and Lord Lovegood about this matter." McGonagall replied, "Your muggle items will not work here, young man, and your threats mean little." At that moment, a quiet voice replied, "Minerva McGonagall, do your duty or you will be removed." Sam glanced to where the voice had come from and saw Neville standing between Harry and Luna. All three had looks of disgust on their faces.

Luna Lovegood was overwhelmed to the point of collapse when she stepped out of the boat and on to Hogwarts proper. Harry and Neville were no better. The strain of having the wards of Hogwarts transfer to the three of them with no warning overcame the preparations they had mentally made on the trip from London. Luna worried about Harry, since he would receive twice as much as she and Neville. She now knew of all of the problems in the castle and had no idea of where to begin fixing these problems. She was thrilled when Neville spoke to McGonagall, and even happier when he reaffirmed the need for the old woman to do her duty. Luna paused by the wall as they were being led from the waiting chamber, placed a hand on the wall, and whispered, "Don't worry. We will fix this somehow."

When Luna, Neville, and Harry entered the Great Hall, the ceiling changed from a grey, cloudy night to one of a clear, bright night with every star visible. House elves appeared with pops and kneeled before the three of them and as Luna greeted each of them, their clothing changed from dirty dish towels into crisp uniforms with the Hogwarts Crest on the center. The walls of the Great Hall which were only moments before dingy and dank were now bright and shiny. The biggest effect of their entry was the Sorting Hat. He seemed to sit straighter and his patches now seemed to be a part of him rather than shoddy repair work. As the doors closed behind them, the Hat began to sing.

Neville Longbottom only half listened to the song of the Sorting Hat. He was lost in his anger at the condition of the school he now owned a forth of. Hogwarts had suffered in the years that it had been out of the control of the Heirs of the Founders. The students suffered along with the castle, and Neville felt, no he knew, that this would be the last chance to repair the damage before it was too late. Willow was awake again, thanks to a potion from Harry, but still needed to be supported by Buffy and Faith. He hid a smirk when he realized that each of his friends still had weapons drawn. The Hat finished its song and McGonagall unrolled parchment and began to read from the list upon it. Neville continued to half listen as his classmates' names were read and each had the hat placed upon their head. Hannah Abbott and Susan Bones went to Hufflepuff. He glanced at Harry from time to time and noticed that his anger had not lessened any more that his own had. Dudley was called and both boys focused on him for the time it took to sort him into Gryffindor. Neville paused again when the Granger girl was called to be sorted and was placed in Gryffindor as well. Daphne went to Slytherin. He was caught by surprise when he was called soon after. The Hat was placed on his head and mental communication began.

"Lord Hufflepuff, may I place you somewhere other than your true house? Gryffindor needs help, but Lord Gryffindor is needed elsewhere."

"Put me where I can be the most help, Sir Hat."

He was placed in Gryffindor and right after, Luna became Ravenclaw. Draco and Pansy both went in short order to Slytherin. Adam and Angela both went to Hufflepuff. Harry refused to answer to Potter and replied that he would either come when called properly or after everyone else. Neville noticed Uncle Sev sit straighter when he heard Harry's response. Xander and Willow both became Ravenclaw and Buffy and Faith were both placed Gryffindor. Dean Thomas became a Ravenclaw. The younger brother of Fred and George went to Gryffindor while Dean was sorted into Hufflepuff. Sam followed Willow and Xander to Ravenclaw and Blaise finished the sorting with Slytherin.

Harry Potter-Prince stood at the rear of the Great Hall in silence. He knew that Hogwarts listed him as Potter-Prince from his letter in July, but he would not allow these idiots to disrespect his father by dropping part of his name. He watched his friends and future classmates be sorted into houses that would support them in some cases and destroy them in others. He watched as the students only clapped for those entering their own houses and snarled at those sorted into Slytherin. This Was Unacceptable. He listened to the connection he now had with the castle as she cheered every student sorted and Harry felt the castle offer comfort to those sorted into Slytherin. The saddest part of the whole ordeal was that Slytherin House was the only house that functioned as it should. Those sorted into Slytherin treated each other as family, at least in public, and banned together to protect those unable to protect themselves. After Blaise was sent to Slytherin, Harry took a step forward and spoke.

"I wish to know why I was not called."

"Young man, I called you and you refused to come forward," McGonagall sneered as she answered.

"Lady McGonagall, you called Harry Potter and that is not my name. I am Harridan James Severus Potter Prince, Lord Potter, and as of earlier this night, Lord Slytherin and Lord Gryffindor. I would have accepted being called Harry Potter-Prince, but I will not accept the disrespect of my father that you have shown tonight. I know that you are aware of this since my letter came addressed properly, so, please, do your duty. It will not be pleasant if you must be reminded again."

Dumbledore began to stand and scold Harry for his treatment of a Professor but Hogwarts did not allow it. He began to speak from his chair and the castle placed a bubble of silence around him. McGonagall looked at her list and saw that the boy was speaking the truth and quietly called "Harry Potter-Prince".

Harry strode to the front of the room and sat on the stool, waiting for the Hat to be placed on his head.

"Hello, Sir Hat. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"Hello, my Lord. The pleasure is all mine. Do you wish to join House Slytherin or do you have elsewhere in mind?"

"House Slytherin would be perfect, Sir Hat."

"Slytherin!" the Hat shouted.

The Great Hall went silent. A small giggle began from the Ravenclaw table and was soon joined by a laugh from Hufflepuff. Clapping began from Spike and Janna, soon joined by Severus and the Slytherin table. All of his friends stood, laughing and clapping, and with a smirk, Harry bowed and went to join his new housemates.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

After Harry was seated, Dumbledore was able to stand and speak again. He stood and cleared his throat to both quiet the room and to draw attention away from Harry.

"I welcome you all to Hogwarts. I have a few announcements before we eat. I would like to introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Quirell. I would also like to introduce our new Potions Master, Severus Snape who will also be the Head of Slytherin House. The Forbidden Forrest is forbidden. And last, but not least, the third floor corridor is forbidden to all but those who wish to die a painful death. Now, we shall eat."

Food appeared on the tables and the children began to load their plates. Draco and Harry began whispering with Blaise, Daphne, and Pansy.

"Things here are much worse than we thought," Harry said quietly.

"What do you need us to do?" Pansy asked.

"You guys have been in Britain and know many more of the families here than we do. Find out about the teachers. Do they play favorites? Are they good teachers? What rumors are there about the teachers? Get me details on those in the other houses that hate us and those who will tolerate us. And who do I need to watch out for in regards to Luna? If she is hurt to get at me, there will be hell to pay!"

"We really need to know those who will target the younger children here." Draco whispered. "Harry has control most of the time, but he hates bullies and bullies that target those he cares for, he will destroy them and their families utterly and completely." Seeing that they did not understand yet, Draco continued, "In elementary school, when we first started, there was a boy in one of the other classes. He picked on Dudley and Sam when they could get them alone. Harry went to the teachers and they didn't act because of lack of evidence. Harry went to the parents, who of course, blew him off because he was five and of no consequence. Harry then went to the Goblins. Lord Gringott came to Los Angeles and formal apology and monetary compensation followed shortly after."

Daphne still looked puzzled, so Harry explained further. "Daphne, you know of the Six?" She nodded. "When Luna turns seventeen and we marry and Grandfather Arty passes on, I will control all of the Six. Gryffindor, Potter, and Pervell from James Potter, Slytherin from Lily Potter-Snape, Black from Grandfather, and Lovegood from our marriage contract."

The conversation was interrupted by the prefects of Slytherin House calling them to follow to the common rooms. Harry quickly dashed to Luna, and after a quick goodnight, followed the prefect into the dungeons.

Dudley sat with Buffy, Faith, and Neville during the feast. The four were slightly subdued by the lack of response when Harry was sorted. He watched his new housemates with trepidation. He was glad that he was not alone. Several of the other first year Gryffindor students had been extremely horrible about the placement of Harry, but the ones who knew him expected it. Really they expected all of them to be either Slytherin or Ravenclaw, but it was good that they had been gotten into all of the houses. The four of them were quiet as they ate and then followed the prefect to Gryffindor Tower. As they entered the tower, Dudley heard the Granger girl complaining about the Boy Who Lived being a pureblood snob. Faith had heard her too and burst into laughter.

"What's so funny. He must be to have been placed in Slytherin," the girl said in a self-righteous tone.

"You do realize that his cousin's parents were completely mundane, right? Harry could give two shits about who your parents are as long as you treat people with respect," Faith said in a flat tone. "Harry went to Slytherin because he was needed there and Dud came to Gryffindor so he could protect me and Buff. Nev should be in Hufflepuff, but he was needed here to teach you idiots a lesson. The Founders would be ashamed of what is going on in their school."

"What does a Yank know about the Founders? You lot are so far behind us that you will never catch up," a boy named Seamus said with a chuckle.

"We know that Gryffindor is the house of the brave, Ravenclaw the house of the wise, Hufflepuff the house of the loyal, and Slytherin the house of the cunning. We know that Salazar Slytherin and Godric Gryffindor were best friends and Helga Hufflepuff and Rowena Ravenclaw were like sisters to them. We know that all four Founders followed the old ways and they understood that dark did not equal evil, just as light does not equal good. We also know that Gryffindor has its share of evil and Slytherin has produced some of the greatest wizards in the world," Buffy rambled, angry at being called a Yank.

"The Yanks also know that when you enter a new land to visit or to begin study, you should take time and learn their customs and ways. If you went to Germany to study, you would be expected to learn German and follow the laws of Germany, so why do you think you should act any differently here. Our American friends came across the pond to study and have taken time to learn the customs and laws of the wizarding world and if you believe that asking to be called by your name makes you stuck up and a snob, there is less hope for this school than we originally believed," Neville said before hugging Buffy and Faith and heading up the stairs to his dorm.

"Neville Longbottom is the kindest, gentlest person I have ever met, but he abhors prejudice and callousness. Most of you have just proven to him that Wizarding Britain is a lost cause. Harry Potter-Prince is one of his best friends and your hatred of him before even meeting him has given him much to think on. I just hope that Harry and Luna have had better experiences tonight, or tomorrow there will be hell to pay," Dudley stated firmly before giving goodnight hugs to Buffy and Faith and following Neville.

The common room of the Hufflepuff dorms was cozy and warm as the newest batch of badgers entered to be greeted by Professor Sprout. She gathered her students around her and asked the newest members to give their names. After they had each said their name, Professor Sprout began speaking again.

"If you need help, the older children will be willing to give you tips and pointers, but they will not do the work for you. I have spoken to Cedric Diggory and he is willing to help Dean, Adam, and Angela find their way around and get settled into a new school. Volunteers will assist the first years to each class and to the Great Hall for meals. Over the next few weeks, I will meet with each of you concerning questions and concerns. Although we did not get one, there are several first year students this year who are younger than most. Please aid them if necessary. It is uncomfortable to be away from home for the first time, as the older children are aware, but I imagine that for ten year olds, it will be worse than normal. There are just a few rules that we need to go over, then you will be free until bedtime. Hufflepuff is the house of loyalty. We do not give loyalty lightly, but it takes a great deal to remove it. We do not bully or harm those who cannot defend themselves, but we defend them. Our house is a family and while families argue and fight from time to time, we do not do so in public. All assignments will be completed on time and you will do your work to the best of your abilities, but if you need help, just ask. I am available each night from the end of last meal to midnight either here or in my office. All first and second years will be in their dorms by nine each night and in bed by nine-thirty. Unless in the common room for homework assistance, all other students will be in their dorms at eleven and in bed by eleven-thirty each night. These bedtimes will be extended by one hour on Friday and Saturday nights. Since the sorting ran late, my first and second years should head to the dorms now, unless you have questions. Breakfast begins at seven and there will be several someones to escort you until eight. Good night."

The common room began to thin out but Dean waited until most had left to approach the professor. He cleared his throat and asked if he could speak with her privately. She stood and told him to follow her to her office.

"How can I help you, Mr. Winchester?"

"Please call me Dean. I look around for dad when someone says Mr. Winchester. I was wondering if Ravenclaw has the same rules as Hufflepuff. I mean, is someone going to be watching over Sammy? And what about Xander and Will? Luna is from an established house, so she should be fine, but the others I worry about, being so young. Buff and Faith can take care of themselves and they have Dud and Nev to watch their backs, but Will and Xander and Sammy, and Luna are all alone in Ravenclaw. I mean, they have little Dean, but he is really new to this too, and he may not know either," Dean rambled showing his concern.

"Dean, I do not know if they have the same system as I do, but I am sure that Professor Flitwick will keep an eye on them. You seemed fine earlier, but now you are almost shaking with concern. Will you tell me why?"

"We knew that there might be problems with us coming here, but we never expected a reaction to Harry being placed in Slytherin. I mean, we knew that we would be separated, but the way the students acted because he wanted to be addressed by his name? That was horrible. And several booed when he went to Slytherin. I thought that Gryffindor protected people, but they seemed to be the worst of all. I almost feel sorry for them."

"You seem to like Mr. Potter-Prince, but why are you not concerned for him as well?"

"Harry and Draco can take care of themselves, and I do like them. Will you keep a secret for me? Even from the other teachers? I think I can trust you, but I need a promise to keep it to yourself."

"As long as the secret will not cause harm to you or others, I will keep everything you tell me in confidence."

"The Heirs of the Founders have returned. Harry Potter-Prince loves his family and those he considers family. He will tear this school apart stone by stone if someone harms his family and no one will be able to stop him. Well, no one who could stop him will. All of us grew up together, or at least since Harry lost his mom and other dad. Me and Sammy lost Mom at the same time. Harry will marry Luna in February in seven years, they may wait until the summer after they finish school, but the rest of us are his cousins just as much as Dudley is. Point is, if they acted like that to the supposed savoir, how will they act to the others, and more importantly, how will Harry respond? It would be bad enough if one of us is harmed, but I pity anyone who hurts Luna. Harry will destroy them."

Dean made his way to the dorm and left Professor Sprout with much to think about as she continued to watch over her badgers before retiring for the night.

Luna and Willow sat in a corner of the Ravenclaw common room listening to the older students complain that they had been stuck with four of the six babies that had come to Hogwarts. Xander, Sam, and Dean Thomas had already gone to their dorm to send messages to the respective parents about the sorting and their reception. Willow was afraid that she would be punished for sending the ghosts on and was waiting for their Head to come to send her home. Luna was waiting until she was calm enough to take to bed. It was after ten now, and most of the students had left for bed, but there was a group of girls still gossiping that Luna was listening to. Currently, they were debating the best course of action to get Luna and Harry apart and one of them with Harry. He longer she listened, the madder she got. Finally, Willow asked her to take her to the dorms and Luna gladly led the way.

They arrived to join three smug looking roommates. Luna looked around and saw that her and Willow's things had been gone through and both their computers had been doused with a sticky liquid. They were ruined. Willow began to cry and beg Luna to let her go home. The others began to giggle at Willow's distress. Luna glared at all of them before pulling Willow into her bed and casting every protection spell that she could think of onto the curtains. She pulled Willow into to arms and hummed until the girl calmed enough to fall asleep, then fell into a fitful sleep herself.

Severus Snape entered the common room with a flair that he had practiced on his son and the other children of Black Vineyard over the years. He could see the division in the students as he entered the room. He began to pace in front of the children as he began his speech.

"Over the years, many lies have set much of the world against us. People have begun to believe that cunning is evil, that ambition is evil, that the dark is evil, that Slytherin is evil. This is not true! Many of you will believe that the Dark Lord Voldemort is the greatest person to hail from these dorms, and that to be great, you must act like he did. This is wrong. This month we will be exploring this myth. Tomorrow after classes, each of you will begin research on one Slytherin member and their contributions to our society. Beginning October first, you will give both a written and oral report covering these achievements. After your reports are completed, we will move on to the other houses, but those will be on those who have done damage to our society. Now for the rules of Slytherin House. You will show a united front outside of the common room. You will respect your housemates and aid in the defense of the house. Any broken rules will receive punishment. The loss of points will result in a meeting with me and additional punishment if necessary. You will be assigned to a study group and will meet with said group at least twice a week. You will maintain an Acceptable in all classes or be assigned detention until your grades improve. As of now, the quidditch team is disbanded and tryouts for all positions will be held in the next several weeks. Any questions?"

There was a slight grumble over the rules, but no one wanted to push the man. Severus caught the gleam in Draco and Harry's eyes and ordered them to follow as he turned to leave the room. He quickly entered his office and shut the door behind the doors before the three broke out in giggles.

"I'm sorry, Papa. I didn't mean to lose it tonight. They know my name, but refused to use it. And the castle is so very angry. Things are worse than we thought. We need to let the others know that they will be needed. After I speak with Luna and Nev in the morning, we may need to replace most of the staff, unless there is a good reason to give them a second chance. I want it to come from them though, so I don't get treated as a spoilt brat any more than will already happen. So, Lord Prince, when will the announcement be made?"

"You are a brat, Harry. Just not spoilt," Draco said, fighting off laughter as he spoke.

"I suggest that you attend at least a day of classes before you begin firing teachers, son."

"Well, that may be a problem. Will kind of sent the ghost history professor on before the feast. She also sent several other ghost on as well," Harry replied sheepishly.

"Interesting. Now, off to bed with you. Tomorrow will be a long day."

Janna finally found the room that had been assigned to her and immediately set up her computer. She contacted Black Hall to inform those present about the sorting and the problems that she could foresee. Once she finished her chat and finished unpacking, she began to pace. Everyone had checked in except for Luna and Willow, who were normally the ones who would check in first. Eventually Janna decided that with the excitement of the day they had forgotten, so she sent a quick message to ask them to meet with her at breakfast the next morning. Spike checked in just after midnight and urged her to get some rest. Janna spent a restless night worrying about the children she had grown to love over the years.

Breakfast was uneventful. The children spoke briefly and decided that they would attend classes before making any decisions. Dean and the twins would report on their classes and with friends in each house, they would have covered most of the first year classes by the end of the day. The group agreed to meet after classes to report.

Slytherin and Ravenclaw had Transfiguration first thing that morning. Harry noticed that something was off with Luna and Willow, but both said they were fine, so he let it be for the moment. They entered the classroom and the five Ravenclaws chose seats in the middle of the room while the five Slytherin students joined them. McGonagall began the class with a lecture about wand safety, demonstrated how to change a matchstick to a needle, and set them to it. The former students at Redwood had learned this spell when they had first gotten their wands at eight, so they spent the majority of the class aiding Daphne, Pansy, and Dean to perform the spell. Blaise had learned at his primary school in Italy. McGonagall had been extremely put out that only the ten of them had mastered the spell by the end of class.

Slytherin and Hufflepuff shared Charms with Professor Flitwick next. Harry and Draco were very disappointed that Flitwick ignored their greeting and quickly settled into their seats as the class began. Flitwick gave the same wand safety lecture as McGonagall before explaining the theory behind the levitation charm. The last thirty minutes of the two-hour class allowed the students to attempt to float feathers. This was another charm that Harry and Draco had learned at eight. Without the influence of Luna and Willow to make them pay attention to the boring lecture, soon Draco and Harry were bombing one another with their feathers. Flitwick was unimpressed to say the least, but only issued warnings rather than removing points and assigning detention.

Lunch was much the same as breakfast, but the Ravenclaws were removed from the Slytherin table as were the Gryffindors. The Hufflepuffs were allowed to remain to the others anger. At the Head Table, Professor Sprout and Professor Snape chatted quietly.

Slytherin and Gryffindor afternoon class was canceled due to lack of a teacher. The group was able to meet briefly before evening meal and decided that they needed to observe some of the other classes before coming to a decision. At the end of Wednesday, they would have attended at least one of each of their classes, so on Thursday they would meet to decide how to proceed.

Tuesday progressed much like Monday with the exception of Herbology that afternoon. Professor Sprout spoke with each student about the experience that they had with plants to get a feel of what level the class was at. The experienced students were placed with those with less experience which had two purposes; first, the houses interacted and second, she could move at a faster pace. She assigned two sets of partners to a group and assigned a project to each group for the term. In theory, this was a wonderful idea to bolster inter-house cooperation, but in reality, it failed on several different levels. The biggest problem was that Slytherin shared this class with Gryffindor. The six children from Black Vineyard were the most experienced with plants while many of the other 'purebloods' only experience with plants was seeing the house elves water them. Harry was partnered with Seamus Finnigan and the group consisted of the two of them plus Millicent Bulstrode and Hermione Granger. It was bad, but could be worse.

After lunch, they had Defense against the Dark Arts. This class was with the Ravenclaws, and the general consensus was that it was a joke. Professor Quirell stuttered so badly that the students could barely understand him. The first class was theory only, and with the stutter, the students were exhausted at the end of the two-hour class. Harry and Draco headed to the library to begin the two-foot essay for the class to get it out of the way. They completed the essay just before time for evening meal.

Wednesday began with Potions, again with the Gryffindors. Severus began the class with a lecture on the art of Potions.

"As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses. I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death—if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I have taught in the past (Rowling, 1997)."

Severus paused and looked around the room to ensure that he had all of their attention. He then began asking questions.

"Potter-Prince, tell me, what would occur if you mixed Belladonna and Valerian Root?" Severus drawled.

"Dead, sir." Harry replied, then continued. "Valerian Root slows the body's functions and builds up toxicity. Belladonna is a quick acting poison without adding a buffer to the brew. A mixture of both will cause a very painful death."

"Very good. Longbottom, name one way to render the poisonous effects of Belladonna null?"

"A Bezoar, sir. It is found in the stomach of a goat."

"Malfoy, what is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

"Nothing, sir."

"Granger, what is the first thing to do when accidentally poisoned?"

"I'm not sure. Where would I find that information?"

"What would you do if your mother was poisoned?" Severus prodded.

"Give her a glass of milk and call poison control?" Hermione answered, unsure.

"Correct. Although in the Wizarding World, you would floo hospital rather than calling poison control."

Severus continued around the room, asking questions and prodding answers when necessary. He called attention to the potion written on the board and walked them through the steps. He walked around the room as the students worked, only interfering if there was a danger issue. The class was productive and even with the sarcasm, Severus was becoming the favorite teacher at Hogwarts.

The children met after the evening meal in a classroom near Janna and Spike's rooms. The began speaking about the different teachers. After thirty minutes, they came to an agreement.

"So we all agree. We will place all the core subject teachers on notice except for Sprout and Snape. One mistake and they will be replaced. We wait to move on Dumbles until we have proof that this is intentional. If we move before then, he will blame it on something. We need to prove he is intentionally damaging the education of the British citizens and the reason why," Neville summarized.

"Do we all agree that Ms. Summers-Black needs to be called in to teach history?"

The Heirs agreed and they decided that they would present the decision to the family on the weekend.

Willow woke cuddled to Luna in Luna's bed again on Thursday morning. Luna was tossing in her sleep and Willow began whispering to calm her friend and shook her when the whispers didn't work. Luna finally woke with a gasp and the girls got up to begin their day. When the curtains were pulled back they noticed that they were alone in their room and there was the same sticky liquid all over the bed curtains that had covered their computers before. The past several mornings, they had awoken to find either homework or books missing and personal items gone or destroyed. Last night they had climbed into Luna's bed with their homework assignments to save them from damage, but this morning their trunks were nowhere to be found. Willow yelled for Kreacher, but got no response. She began looking for her stuff and found hers and Luna's trunks in the girls' showers, burnt to ashes. She couldn't hold back the tears.

Luna found Willow sitting in the shower room in tears. The house elves had taken their clothes from the previous day, so Luna transfigured their night clothes into robes and half drug Willow down to the empty common room. Willow cried for twenty minutes before she calmed enough for Luna to be able to focus on how to deal with their current problem. Luna used her connection to Hogwarts to find out what happened and who was involved. The three girls that had planned to break her and Harry apart talked the girls in their dorm into playing lookout while they did the damage to their belongings every morning that they had been at school. The girls had no shoes and could not transfigure them, so they headed in socked feet to the Great Hall. Willow sniffled as they went, begging Luna to help her go home. Luna promised that she would get her to her sisters and they would go from there and this seemed to settle Willow a bit.

They entered the Great Hall with a bang and the room fell silent. Luna steered Willow to Buffy and Faith before grabbing Neville by the arm and leading him to Harry. When Harry realized that Luna had no shoes the furniture in the room began to shake. He told them in a voice of steel, "Deal with it, or I will." The three children looked to the head table and received a slight nod from Severus, and Luna spoke softly, "Burn it down."


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

"Burn it down." The words echoed as if shouted. Spike dialed a number that he hoped would not be needed. He repeated the words that Luna had stated, "Burn it down."

Within moments the Great Hall was flooded with Goblins and High Elves. Moments later, the allied forces of House Black entered the Great Hall in full battle attire. At the same time, everyone who was in the school but not the Hall came in escorted by the suits of armor that normally lined the halls. Xeno Lovegood strode to the front of the Hall and spoke.

"An attack occurred on the property of a member of the Six Great Houses. An attempt was made on her person. The same delinquents attacked the property of a member of House Black and an attempt on her person. Will you deal with this or shall we?"

"Now Xeno," Dumbledore began as he stood, "surely these problems are not as severe as you think."

"Albus Dumbledore, are you calling me a liar or my daughter? Have you any idea what happens in this school?"

The three Heirs moved to the center of the Great Hall and looked to Luna. She began to speak.

"One thousand years ago, our ancestors built this school so that all magicals would have a safe place to learn. Upon our decision to attend this school, we were told that our Goblin and High Elf classmates would not be able to attend. This saddened us, but we still decided to come. We arrived and Hogwarts was so happy that we were here that we were knocked out by her welcome. Since we arrived last night, one of us was publically ridiculed for insisting that he be called by his name, then ridiculed for the House he was placed in, another was made to defend his friend in a place that is supposed to be safe, and I no longer have any belongings in this castle other than the clothes on my back. One teacher had to be reminded on several occasions last night to perform her duties rather than being a judgmental old cow. The Headmaster responded to an accusation of one of the Six with scorn rather than finding the truth of the matter. Another teacher has been threatened with prison if he does not treat a certain student with scorn, no matter that the student is his son. An investigation will begin into the problems within Hogwarts and each of you will be interviewed. Those responsible will be punished and those unwilling to follow the rules will be removed. Anyone removed who does not have the minimum number of OWLS will have their magic bound until they are enrolled in another learning center. Those unwilling to follow the rules with sufficient OWLS will be sent home on the train at the end of the investigation."

"Ms. Lovegood, please sit down and stop this nonsense," Dumbledore began before being interrupted.

"Shut up, you, old fool. We have more right to be here than you do. I am Neville Longbottom, Lord Hufflepuff. This is Luna Lovegood, Lady Ravenclaw and her betrothed, Harry Potter-Prince, Lord Gryffindor and Lord Slytherin. Continue to push us, Goat, and we will destroy you."

The Great Hall went silent. Lord Black and Lucius led the staff to the staffroom to be questioned while Janna and Spike began leading children to the end of the Slytherin table to begin their questioning.

Severus Snape-Prince had spent ten years away from the horrors of the British Wizarding World and had left behind much of the prejudice and hatred that this world grasped firmly to. On an intellectual level, Severus knew that his family would be judged harshly for their views on magic and creatures, but the friendship that his son had forged with the High Elf realm and the Goblin Nation had shown him the fallacy in the thoughts of even the so called light side here. Luna and Willow were two of the kindest souls that had ever existed and his Slytherin side wanted to destroy anyone who had a part in the harm of those two, but he also wanted to make sure that it was a truly malicious act, rather than the actions of someone who feared that all they had been taught was wrong. British wizards felt that since they began training at eleven, no one else should begin prior to that. The children's arrival through that though into doubt. They could have accepted Harry, Neville, and Draco knowing things because they were Heirs of Noble and Ancient Houses, but the others? Inconceivable. Luna's little oddities seemed so normal after ten years of exposure and the benefit of her strange visions and Willow's incoherent babble when she was overly excited was endearing once you knew that it greatly aided her thought process.

Severus wondered if this had been a mistake. He wanted to bundle the children and the friends they had made up and return home. He wanted to allow the wizards to destroy themselves, but he knew that Dumbledore would never allow them peace. He could take the others, but Dumbles would never allow Harry to leave his grasp. He followed Arcturus and Lucius to the staffroom and hope that most of the staff would be acceptable. It would keep the children calmer during the transition if many of the faces stayed the same. His main concern was how to limit Dumbles and his actions. He knew that this incident would not be enough to truly rid themselves of the man, but it would allow them to hold some sway over the man.

Severus would request on Joyce and Xeno's behalves that Luna and Willow receive private rooms or at least one suite to share. He would look into this for the other young one that had accompanied them to Hogwarts. After all, two others were sorted to Ravenclaw as well and it is better to be safe than sorry. With a loose plan in mind, Severus steeled himself for a long day of tough decisions.

In the staffroom, Arcturus, Lucius, and Severus sat on one side of a table with a single chair placed on the other. The majority of the staff stood at the side of Dumbledore, frantically whispering about what would happen. Professor Sprout stood apart with a frown on her face. Arcturus stood and spoke.

"For those who do not know, I am Arcturus Black, Lord Black. Myself, Lord Malfoy, and Lord Prince will be speaking with you this morning about the school and the accusations we have heard. You may all be present for the initial interviews, but if we need to speak further, it will be done in private. I believe that we shall begin with Professor Sprout."

Pomona Sprout took the chair offered and mentally prepared herself to answer for her crimes.

"Please state your name and position for the record."

"Pomona Sprout, Herbology professor and Head of House Hufflepuff. I have made mistakes during my time here and I will accept the punishments that you decide."

"May we call you Pomona?" Lucius waited for a reply of yes before continuing. "Pomona, the information that we have been given shows that you are a good teacher and an excellent Head. What mistakes are you referring to?"

"I have not followed orders when they seemed wrong. I have not taught my badgers to shun Slytherin as ordered, but allowed the shunning of individuals when deemed necessary. I favor my badgers, but attempt to be fair when dealing with the other houses. I also broke orders by making myself available to my house instead of teaching them self-reliance. I also purchase plants out of pocket rather than pass the cost to the families as ordered." Pomona's head hung as she recited her mistakes.

"Pomona, those are not mistakes. You heard unreasonable orders and worked around them. Do you have the cost of the plants you have paid for out of pocket?" Arcturus asked with a smile.

"I pay fifty galleons a month since August of 1970 when I began teaching here. The vendors send me the plants needed and I make payments each month. The years that I pay more than the cost make up for the years that the payments do not cover. I seldom need to purchase the plants more than once because I grow what I can here to help with costs."

"Would you be willing to grow some of the more common potion ingredients? It would help to offset the potions costs each year," Severus asked.

"I would love to do so. My NEWT students would benefit greatly, but we have never done this because of lack of space. I fear that another greenhouse would be needed and I have been told repeatedly that three greenhouses were more than enough."

"Dear Lady, you should have two greenhouses for each year. We shall remedy this as soon as the audit of the finances has been completed. Please make a list of other items that are needed for your department and we shall meet to review your list in a couple of days."

"Thank you. I feel that I should also let you know that I was warned that the Heirs had returned to Hogwarts by a student on the first night. He warned me that bad things would happen if Luna was harmed, but I did not inform Filius as I should have. I am partially responsible for the damage because I withheld information."

"Pomona, you did nothing wrong. Dean informed us that he spoke with you and the promise he got from you. The first attack on the property had been committed before Dean spoke with you, so your knowledge would not have helped. I only hope that my son's Slytherin side remains in control until the investigation is complete. It would not do to have his dad's vengeance loosed on Hogwarts at this time," Severus said with a huge smirk.

Spike watched as an Elf and a Goblin spoke with the children. Those who refused to be questioned without their parents were seated at the Gryffindor table. Those who had been questioned and found without guilt were seated at Hufflepuff. Those waiting for their turn were at Ravenclaw and those being sent away were at the other end of Slytherin, under Goblin and High Elf guard. So far, only six students were being sent home and thirty were waiting for their parents. Nev, Luna, and Harry sat apart from the other children with Nev and Luna trying to keep Harry calm. A scratch at the door caught Spike's attention and he opened the door to allow Mordred inside. He hurried to his master and soon the boy was calm enough that the others began to relax. Spike watched as Harry met the cat's eyes and Mordred's tail began to switch violently.

"Oh shit!" was all that Spike had time to think before Mordred sprung, growing to his full size, at a group of whispering girls waiting for their parents. A quick look at Harry showed that he would not be calling the beast off, so Spike moved to lessen the damage if he could.

"Oi! Mordred! Back off the girls, mate. If you maim them before the parents get here, we can't punish 'em. 'Sides Luna would be sad if they had reason to punish you instead. Go take care of Harry and Luna. They won't get away."

Mordred growled at the girls again before turning and sauntering across the hall to lay next to Harry and Luna, keeping his enhanced size as a reminder of his anger. Sally used the distraction of Mordred's attack to slither into the room and arrived at Harry's chair. She quickly moved up the chair and placed herself firmly around his shoulders and began whispering in his ear.

Spike moved closer to the group and wished that Bella was there. She would be able to calm Harry more than anyone else right now with Luna being upset about Willow's treatment. Little Luna reminded him of Dru before she became so broken that she couldn't function. He wondered if she could have been saved if he had returned to this world after the poof had been cursed, but those thoughts were better left for later. Right now he needed to watch the children and make sure he did not fail again.

Hermione Granger sat alone at the Hufflepuff table, having been questioned and found innocent of the crimes. She felt slightly guilty for being relieved that she had not been the one tormented. Faith and Buffy's words from earlier that week rolled through her thoughts. Would she have learned the language and culture of a foreign country before going to study there? Yes, she would. So why did she feel like the wizard world should cater to her? When Professor Dumbledore had come to her family a few days before the Parkinson guy had come, he assured her that her culture would be honored and there was no need to conform to theirs. Why would she doubt what the man told her? He was the Headmaster of the school that she would attend, but the things that Buffy and Faith had said made so much more sense. She took a deep breath and stood, walking across the room to where the Slytherin group was waiting for their parents.

"Miss Parkinson, may I speak with you, alone?"

Pansy stood and led her a few feet away before stopping and turning with an impatient look on her face. Hermione took a deep breath and bowed deeply.

"I wish to make a formal apology for my behavior towards your family and your offer of help. I am unsure of how to do so. I have come to realize that I was wrong in my feelings and opinions. It was pointed out to me that if I were going to study in a foreign country, I would learn the language and the culture of where I was going and I was challenged to honestly answer why I did not feel the need to do so here. I allowed Professor Dumbledore's words to override my common sense. I find that I do need the guidance and information that I deigned before, if your family is still willing to help."

Pansy stood looking at the girl for several minutes before speaking. "Miss Granger, the decision is not mine, but when Father arrives to oversee my questioning, I will ask him to speak with you. I will offer you a small bit of advice. Never allow someone to question you without representation, even if you are innocent. This isn't the same as the mundane world and people will take advantage of you. That may be the reason you were told that you did not need to know our culture."

The two girls began discussing the differences in questioning people in the two worlds. They discovered that the biggest difference was once a child turned eleven in the wizarding world they could be questioned alone legally unless they requested their parents and mundane born have no advocate other than their head of house at Hogwarts unless fostered by a wizard family.

Parents began to arrive to join their children to be questioned. The most vocal about being called in were Madame Edgecombe and Madame Chang. They stepped into the Great Hall and stalked towards their daughters. Following behind them were two Aurors. After several hushed words with their daughters, Madame Chang strode towards Willow with hate in her eyes.

"How dare you, mudblood! You may have fooled these pathetic half-bloods and blood traitors, but I will not allow you to wrongfully accuse my daughter of crimes. I want this little bitch arrested and sent back to the hole she came from. As if any true Black would adopt you." She smacked Willow before anyone could intervene.

The Aurors moved to place Willow in custody when Mordred jumped, pinning the woman to the ground with his fangs inches from her face. His humming growl increased as he smelt the fear rolling off the woman in waves. The Aurors pulled their wands and pointed them at the large cat to dispatch him when a voice stopped them.

"The intentional harm of the familiar of a member of a Most Ancient and Most Noble House carries a death penalty, sirs. I would suggest that you think very long and hard before attempting to attack my familiar. This woman physically attacked a member of my House and rather than restraining her, you moved to do her bidding. Had you restrained her, Mordred would not have felt the need to protect Willow," Harry spoke quietly, but his voice carried. "No one has made any accusations today, except Mordred and the only students who spoke in the Great Hall this morning were myself, Neville Longbottom, and Luna Lovegood."

"Lies! Get this beast off of me. This beast is not a familiar! Kill it! This bitch accused my daughter of attacking her!" Madame Chang's ramble was cut short when Mordred placed his jaws around her neck and applied slight pressure.

Spike strode confidently towards the Aurors and smirked at the scene before him. He paused to examine the mark that had begun to darken on Willow's face before motioning Griphook to document the mark. Griphook took pictures of Willow's face and then began to chant in Gobblygook to heal the mark. He quickly pulled the cellular phone from his pocket and called Joyce. He explained the situation and asked her to come. He nodded to Spike and the vampire turned to the Aurors.

"William Malfoy at your service. I am the protector of the American students enrolled in this school. We are willing to give access to our memories of this morning to back our version of Lord Potter's account of the morning. Lady Lovegood came to me and gave the code to shut the school and call in the Six Great Houses. I followed the order. Lord Black and Lord Lovegood arrived and there was an altercation between Headmaster Dumbledore and Lord Lovegood which resulted in the Heirs of the Founders announcing themselves and taking control of the school. When the children began to ask for their parents, we called them in. The attack on the property of a member of one of the Six Great Houses was the foremost with the attack on a member of House Black as secondary because Willow is not a member of the main branch while Luna is. Willow was never mentioned by name, and I would like to know how Madame Chang knew that she had been attacked."

Harry stepped forward and spoke to Madame Chang, "I will call my familiar off if you agree to not attack Willow again."

The woman agreed and Mordred let her up.

"We will be sure to question Madame Chang on how she received her information once we arrive at the Ministry," one of the Aurors stated.

"This attack occurred at Hogwarts and I do not remember asking for the Ministry's assistance in resolving this. Thank you for your offer, but we will handle this on our own. Spike, have Griphook take Madame Chang into custody."

"Boy, you do not have the authority to give us orders."

"I am Harridan Potter-Prince, Lord Potter, Lord Gryffindor, Lord Slytherin and Heir to TWO Founders and several different Houses. Once I marry my betrothed and come into my full inheritance, I will control all Six Great Houses! Do not call me boy and do not speak of what you do not know. Leave now or I will eject you. Madame Edgecombe may stay for her daughter's questioning or leave and take her daughter with her. If Marietta leaves without being questioned, she will not be allowed to return to Hogwarts. Master Chang will need to come to be with Cho to be questioned or she can leave without never to return."

"That sounds like blackmail," the Auror said smugly.

"No, it is not. There are clear rules that will be abided by or the consequences will be levied. Just because no one has enforced the rules until now, does not mean that we do not have the right to enforce them," Neville responded.

Knowing that they would gain nothing more, the Aurors turned to leave. They smiled in the knowledge that they would soon return with backup.

Dora Tonks sat at the end of the Slytherin table watching Harry and Neville speak with the Aurors. She was suddenly very grateful to Lord Prince for his apprenticeship. If not, she could have been the trainee assigned to Aurors like those who were leaving the school now. Their abuse of power made her sick. Harry and Neville were good kids trying to protect those needing protection. She discretely sent a message to Severus letting him know what was happening in the Great Hall and then moved closer to Harry in case he needed her. Griphook had placed guards around Madame Chang and it appeared that those chosen to guard her were ones with attachments to Willow. She almost felt sorry for the woman, but she had attacked Willow. Her phone buzzed and she read the message from Severus. He asked her to call in her mother and Aunts. She smiled at the hidden bloodthirstiness of the man and stepped into a secluded area to make the calls.

Mother was aware of the attack on Will by Madame Chang and would arrive shortly with Auntie Cissy. Auntie Bella and Auntie Joyce should be arriving any moment. Surprisingly, Auntie Joyce fit in with the Black sisters like she had been with them all of their lives. She was sweet and kind until you attacked someone who she had claimed. Willow and Faith were her daughters and Xander her son as much as Buffy as far as Joyce was concerned. For that matter, Dean and Sam were hers too, with the other children from Black Vineyard being looked at as well loved nieces and nephews. Dora broke into a huge smile as she sent the message "All four Black sisters will arrive in the next few minutes."

Severus groaned as he looked at the remaining teachers in the staffroom. They had interviewed most of the staff and so far only Filch needed to be dismissed and only Flitwick and Vector needed to be put on probation. Hagrid, Trelawney, Burbage, McGonagall, and Dumbledore were the only interviews left. His phone buzzed indicating a message and he quickly responded for Dora to call her mother and Aunts in. He openly smiled when the response came that the Black sisters were in route.

"Excuse me. I have received word that we are needed in the Great Hall. Willow Summers-Black has been assaulted by one of the parents and her mother is in route and bringing the Black sisters along. Shall we break for lunch and watch the fireworks," Severus said with a smirk.

The group moved to the Great Hall in time to see Joyce Summers-Black and Bellatrix Black enter the Hall. Bella abandoned dignity and ran to Harry and Luna and pulled them into her arms. Joyce stormed to Willow and examined her face before beginning to make demands.

"Who attacked my daughter? Who has tortured this innocent girl? Which of you taught your children that it is okay to destroy the belongings of a child? Or is it okay because she is American? Or that her birth parents were mundane? Tell me! You are all cowards who hide behind your bigotry and teach your children it is okay to harm those who are different from them! I will be pressing charges against every person that is involved in this attack on my daughter. If the heirlooms are returned immediately, I will ask for leniency, if I have to search for them, I will ask for the full force of punishment. You have ten minutes."

Joyce pulled Willow closer and called her other children to her, including Dean and Sam. Bella gathered her brood and soon Andi and Cissy arrived. The Black Vineyard children patiently allowed the Black sisters look each of them over and make sure each of them had not been damaged. Bella presented Willow and Luna with new trunks, phones, and computers. The ten minutes passed with no one coming forward to return any items. Bella stood with a large smirk and addressed the Goblins present in Gobblygook.

"Secure any who items come from when the spell is cast," Bella said to the Goblins before turning and casting a localized summoning for Willow and Luna's things. The earrings in Cho Chang's ears ripped out and flew to Bella's hand and were followed by the necklace off of Marietta Edgecombe's neck. Pieces of Luna's butterbeer cork necklaces came from the pockets of Marianne Clearwater and Lynnette Malcom, both first year Ravenclaws. Professor Flitwick volunteered to search those four girl's belongings for other items that they might have kept.

At the end of the search, the four girls had kept all of Luna and Willow's jewelry and several of their books, but none of their pictures or clothing had been found. Bella ordered replacement clothing, both robes for classes and mundane clothing for leisure times, school books, and replacement equipment for potions and astronomy.

When the staff interviews were completed, Filch was dismissed, Flitwick, McGonagall and Vector put on probation, and Trelawney would be only teaching those who had the gift. Joyce would replace Binns, who had been sent on. Bella would now be co-teaching with Burbage until the Muggle Studies, now Mundane Culture, class had been revamped. A Wizarding Culture class had been added and would be taught by Cissy and an Economics class would be taught by Andi. Dumbledore's power had been severely limited due to his actions and he had no choice but to agree to the changes. A Board of Advisors was created to aid the Heirs until they were of age and consisted of Lord Black, Lord Lovegood, Lady Longbottom, and Lord Prince. The school governors would stay in place for a time, but would answer to the Board of Advisors.

Lady Bones had arrived near the end of the day and agreed that the Aurors had been out of line. She agreed to charge the four Ravenclaw girls, who had been questioned, and removed them, along with Madame Chang, from the school pending trial. The five would have their day before the Wizengamot the first week of October.

The staff spent a great deal of the night building new schedules for the students to include the new classes. Each student would have to take one year of Mundane and Wizarding Culture. Economics would also be required, but it was an upper year class. The occupants of Hogwarts slept that night comforted by the castle and its happiness.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Hogwarts Castle was over a thousand years old. Her Founders spend decades on her construction and through the blood, sweat, and tears of her parents, for that was what the Founders were to her, she became aware. In the early days, Hogwarts was a fortress to protect those in residence from the terrors outside of her walls. After the split from the mundane world, she became a school and hospital, but one thing she had always been was a sanctuary. Those who needed her were always welcome as long as they meant no harm to the people who called her home. When her parents began to die, they each left a part of them with her so she would never be alone. It was an imprint, much like the portraits that had become so popular during the 1500s. This allowed her to ask her parents for advice when needed, but also kept her from being alone. Mother Rowena told her that one day her niece and nephews would return and with them the old ways would return. Mother Helga comforted her when she realized that for them to return, the old ways would need to perish. Her Fathers spent years ensuring that she would be able to protect herself and her charges without the aid of an Heir and charged her to protect the children, even from those who lived in her walls. She was able to sleep for long periods, but always woke when a new niece of nephew entered, but over the years the old ways began to fade and her nieces and nephews stopped listening to her. Occasionally, one would arrive who would listen but over the years they would leave her and not return.

She became much more aware when a child named Tom Riddle arrived in her halls in 1938. He was not an Heir, but he was related to her and he listened. They had great fun playing with Father Salazar's pet and she taught him the basics of the old ways. She hoped that Tom would be able to stay with her, but Dumbledore interfered. By the end of Tom's schooling, she had no choice but to send Tom away for his own protection. Tom had made mistakes, he allowed Slyther out and she killed a student, but Hogwarts had found that Tom was being controlled. She ended the control and healed Tom of the damage and she sent him away to be able to avoid harm. He did return to her eventually, but Dumbledore stole him away. When she could no longer reach him, she vowed to do everything in her power to protect her charges from the man.

In the years that followed, her inability to protect Tom weighed heavily on Hogwarts. She blocked many of Dumbledore's plots but without an Heir in house, she was limited. She was overwhelmingly grateful when 1971 arrived and with it James Potter, Lily Evans, and Alice McKee. Hogwarts was giddy with the arrival of three of her Heirs, but she would need to be much more careful to be able to protect them. The loss of Tom was painful, but while he was related, he was not an Heir, and these three were. She spent the seven years they attended keeping Dumbledore away from them and attempting to make sure they were friends. Hogwarts was thrilled when in 1979 the wedding of James Potter, Lily Evans, and Severus Snape occurred in the Forbidden Forest and later the same year when Alice married Frank Longbottom in Hogsmeade. She could hardly contain herself when in July of 1980 first Neville, Heir of Hufflepuff and then the next day Harridan, Heir of Gryffindor and Slytherin were born in her halls. A year later, Pandora and Xeno Lovegood requested aid in delivering their child, and little Luna, Heir of Ravenclaw came to be born in her halls. Then James and Lily were killed and Hogwarts reached out when she felt their deaths to protect Harridan with all that she had. She felt the aid of the outside powers helping her and assuring her that Harridan would be protected until he could return to her.

Ten years passed and those she had cared for had begun to return. Severus had returned and was teaching his potions and caring for her charges. Alice returned after the incident with Luna and would be close to help protect the Heirs, because she was an Heir as well. Hogwarts could feel Tom again, and this was the Tom that she had loved and not the thing that Dumbledore had turned him into. Now all of the Founder's Heirs were in her halls. She failed to protect Luna and her friend in the first week that they had been there, but she would not fail again. It was time for Hogwarts Castle to awaken fully and protect her charges from internal and external threats.

Albus Dumbledore was losing control and this could not be tolerated. Over his years as Headmaster, he had learned to ignore the complaints of the castle, but now he heard none of the rumblings that he should coming from that quarter. It was disconcerting to no longer have that voice constantly whispering the goings on in his school. Those foul children had done something, he was sure. How dare they claim to be the Heirs of the Founders. He did know that Harry Potter was the Heir of Gryffindor, but the rest was utter rubbish. If the Potter family was a secret Heir of Slytherin, someone would have known before now. Tom Riddle was the last of the Slytherin family. He needed to locate the documentation of Potter and Lovegood's marriage contract so he could find how to break it. Molly Weasley would be livid when she found that the Lovegood girl was engaged to Harry instead of Ginevra. It would be bad enough that Harry went to Slytherin preventing Ron from becoming Potter's best friend. It would be much harder to slip the potions now. He also needed to find out how Severus broke the memory charm he placed on him twelve years ago.

Dumbledore was unsure how he had lost so many of the marked followers without knowing. Malfoy, Lestrange, Severus, and the younger Black had found a way to remove the mark and he had lost the means to gain power from them. This was most unfortunate. Without the marks draining them, any of the four could overpower him if they attacked without warning. If any of them had learned to link, which certainly those of House Black knew, the could destroy him with or without warning.

He was disappointed that he had not be able to keep the Ravenclaw girls at Hogwarts, but he had been able to get them back for the following year and alter their records to show that they had family issues that caused their withdrawal. He only hoped that he would be able to influence the trials. He would insist that the girls were prepared and that the accusers were caught off guard when they were forced to testify with no notice. That should help the defense of the other girls. It should not be hard to lead a teacher or two to assigning detention to the two, and that would aid in keeping them isolated.

The worst part of this cluster fuck, to use the mudblood saying, is that he had to accept the teachers that had been pushed upon him. This meant that the Black sisters would once again be at Hogwarts and it seemed that they had accepted a cousin into their ranks. Four witches from House Black would be hard to counter, but when the three untrained Black witches were added into the equation the damage could be deadly. He would need to lay low until he understood better.

The three students that surprised him most this year were Potter, his cousin, and Longbottom. Longbottom had much more confidence than he should being shut away for all of these years with his mother. He appeared to be well trained in the old ways and he knew the pureblood traditions that Dumbledore had hoped that none of this year's children would know. There may be some truth to the claim that he was the Heir of Hufflepuff. Dudley Dursley is nothing like either of his parents. He had hoped that after the attack on their lives when the children were five would cause the abuse and hatred that he had expected all along to begin, with the Dursley's blaming Harry. Apparently, this attack only served to make the family closer. The adults had taken the children into hiding and Dumbledore still had not found their location. Potter appeared at Hogwarts and had made friends and held himself much the way that James Potter had arrived, with a serious smattering of the attitude that most of House Black had when they arrived. His relationship with young Malfoy was something that would need to be watched. The way they reacted to each other showed that their friendship had been longer than just the summer. He would need to try to find the truth about these children who had arrived to make his life hell.

A noise brought his attention back to the surroundings. Standing before him was the being that always made him shutter. The demon stood with his gaze hard and focused on Dumbledore.

"Riddle is beyond our reach. He has been stolen from our grasp by who we suspect to be aided by the Powers That Be. From our sources, he has been returned to a mortal body but we do not know where, his current age, or what memories he might hold. Keep your eyes open, Dumbledore." The demon faded as the knock on his was heard.

"Enter," he replied, hoping that the smell would not be noticed.

"Albus, is now a good time for the meeting you mentioned earlier?" McGonagall asked as she entered the room.

"Of course, Minerva. I was wondering your thoughts on the new group of children this year."

"The new group is certainly interesting. Potter and his attitude is not what I expected. He demands respect that he has not earned and treats others with distain. Those in his group, including several of my Gryffindors are aloof to their fellow students and have in fact brought Miss Granger to tears several times. Ronald Weasley has been targeted on several occasions for simply stating the truth, Slytherin does produce more Dark wizards than any other house. The Summers-Black girls are quick to defend their friends, which is good, but the fact that many of those friends are members of other houses is causing tension. If it continues, I will have to speak with them about their House loyalty. The Winchester boys seem to be fitting in well and most of the other students seem to be conforming quite nicely, except for the Slytherin students, but that is always the case. Have you found out who this Lord Prince is and why Potter is using Potter-Prince?"

"No, Minerva. As far as I know, Potter has spent the last ten years in ignorance of the magical world, but I do know who Lord Prince is, but I am unsure how this came to be. Keep your eyes open, Minnie. We need to know what possible threats we can expect from the movements of House Black. The two Ravenclaws, Lovegood and Summer-Black, need to be encouraged towards loyalty to the school rather than anywhere else. Do what you can to keep them away from Potter's influence. Single them out and make them feel alone and left behind."

Minerva nodded as she rose to leave. She never noticed the subtle magical influences in the conversation. She would do as she was asked, but never question why she wanted to keep the houses separate.

Dumbledore smiled as he followed her from his office, disillusioned, not noticing the changes that were occurring around him. He spent the rest of the day moving among the students, listening for anything concerning Harry Potter and his friends.

As the days passed, Hogwarts became more active. The house elves began making their outrage towards the staff who were lax in their duties known. They rallied against Dumbledore by serving him cold tea and stale food. As Fawkes approached another burning day, Hogwarts and the house elves made plans to remove him from Dumbledore's influence. The house elves began removing ashes from his stand, relocating them to a safe location, and replacing the missing with fireplace ash. Fawkes needed to be free for Hogwarts plan to work. Slowly, the creatures of the Forbidden Forest were cleansed of the taint that had been growing stronger since Dumbledore had become Headmaster.

Hogwarts was not alone in her planning. With the return of the Founder's Heirs, the imprints of the Founders had begun to stir. Salazar was the first to become fully functional and began walking the halls. He took note of those who helped their fellow classmates and attempted to explain to them why things worked the way they did and he also noted those who belittled those needed help. He was shocked that many of those belittling those needing aid belonged to his own house. He snuck into classes and was shocked at how far the standards had fallen. After several days of watching, he found that the only house that was close to what they had envisioned was Hufflepuff. Gryffindor was full of students that bullied those who didn't act and speak the same as them, and Ravenclaw students bullied those who were different regardless of their intelligence. The students of his own house were so hated that even the teachers ignored and blamed them for everything that happened in Hogwarts which caused them to attempt to become self-sufficient and closed off from the other houses. Salazar decided that the others needed to wake and help repair the damage to their school.

Helga was the first that he wakened. She aided him in ensuring that the defenses of the castle had not been damaged. They spent several hours with Slyther to remove the programming that had been placed on her by Dumbledore through Tom Riddle. They then went through the process of waking Godric and Rowena. Salazar explained all that he had seen and the four began to formulate a plan. The Founders and their Heirs would take Hogwarts back even if it took force to do so.

Castiel was in a strange situation and did not know how to proceed. He had been sent to Hell to 'rescue' the soul of an innocent. The soul appeared to be in his sixties, but it had not lived all of those years. The Powers That Be sent a messenger who appeared when he returned to the earthly realm and explained that the soul needed to be allowed to grow and learn so he could become that which he was destined. There was a flash of light and before him a sleeping eleven year-old appeared. He took the child and they appeared in the small apartment that he used when needing to appear human and watched the sleeping child waiting for him to wake.

The following morning, the child woke and Castiel provided food and clothing. He began to gently question the child so an attempt to get him to people that he knew could be made. The child could remember his basic education, but very little else, including his name. Castiel knew he needed help to get this child the help he needed. The only contacts that he had in London was House Black. He explained to the child that they were going to visit some friends to get help and the two of them traveled to Black Hall. Castiel only hoped that they could help.

When they arrived at Black Hall, the only person in residence was Kreature. The house elf asked them to wait for his master's return and said he should return within the half hour. Kreature supplied snacks and tea while they waited. Twenty minutes later, Lord Black and Regulus Black returned. They were shown into the receiving room, where Castiel began to plead his case.

"Lord Black, thank you for seeing us. Is there a way to find out who this child used to be so we can get him back to where he needs to be? He was rescued from the pit and his age altered so he could become who he needs to be, but no one bothered to tell me how to get him where he needs to be. He remembers little of who he used to be, not even his name."

"Master, Kreature knows who he used to be. Kreature be meeting him when Master ran away from Bad Mother Not Black. He was with the Bad Man Master destroyed when he saved Master Harry Potter Sir before he became Master Harry With Too Many Last Names. But this not Bad Man, this is what was before and is good. Kreature wants to help but Kreature thinks that only Master Harry With Too Many Last Names can help heal this boy man."

Regulus stepped forward and cast a spell. He inhaled deeply when the results showed that the child before him was Tom Riddle. It took a minute for him to remember the things that he had been speaking with Grindelwald about and realized that Tom Riddle was not Voldemort and was innocent of the things that Dumbledore forced him to do.

"Your name is Tom Riddle and I promise you that I will protect you from those that hurt you before," Regulus said to the boy softly.

"It appears that House Black has a new ward. Welcome to House Black, Tom. Tomorrow we will get you enrolled at Hogwarts. I think we should have you use the Black name until we deal with the problems at Hogwarts. Is that okay with you Tom?"

"Master, Master Tom should be one of Master Harry's Names. They is kin through Master Harry With Too Many Last Names mummy. Hide him with her name."

"Thank you, Kreature. How does Tom Evans sound?" Regulus asked.

"Could I be Thomas Evans?"

"Sure child. We should go shopping to gather your supplies before it gets too late. You will stay here tonight and then I will take you to Hogwarts in the morning. Sound okay?" Regulus kept his voice kind and calm.

Arcturus Black watched his grandson and the child with kindness. He knew that the boy had already worked his way into Reggie's heart and he would do what was necessary to make sure he survived what was coming.

Regulus and Tom went to Diagon Alley and retrieved his school things. Regulus then took Tom to mundane London to purchase casual clothing and some recreational items. As they shopped, Regulus told Tom about the Wizarding World in Britain and also about California and where the other children had grown up. Tom asked if he would be able to join them in California next summer, and Regulus assured him that he was now part of the family and would go where they went. Regulus told him about Harry and how much family meant to him. Tom was Harry's cousin and nothing would change that.

After they finished shopping, they returned to Black Hall and Regulus began to explain what he knew of Tom's original past.

"I need to tell you some things that might be hard for you to accept. Please listen first, then I will answer your questions as best I can. Tom Marvolo Riddle was born the 31st of December, 1926. Your mother was Merope Gaunt, a witch from the lesser line of House Slytherin. The Gaunt Family claimed to be the main line, but we now know that the main line lost their magic for a time and it was only restored with the birth of Lily Evans Potter Snape or possibly Potter Prince. You attended Hogwarts in the 30s and 40s and sometime during that time, you were possessed by a demon who did truly horrible things. From what we have been able to find out, you fought off the possession several times over your years there, but at some point, you were not able to fight it any longer. The demon used your body to begin a war in that world and with his followers set out to destroy anyone not of pure blood. On the 31st of October, 1981 the demon attacked the home of the Potters and after killing James and Lily, attacked Harry. With the help of two others and an extremely powerful outside force, we were able to save Harry and destroy the demon and his means of staying tied to this world. We did not know that you were still sharing the body when we sent the demon to Hell. Castiel found out and rescued you and you have been given this chance to become who you were destined to be. I need you to remember that the demon did the horrible things. Remember that the Powers That Be judged you as an innocent. Remember that you are now fostered by House Black and you are a member of House Slytherin. You have family in every house at Hogwarts and they will stand with you and help you. All you have to do is ask. Do you have any questions?"

"How can Harry ever forgive me?" Tom asked in a very quiet voice.

"Harry knows that the demon killed James and Lily. Severus, his other father, made sure that he understood this concept. Would it make you feel better to speak with him before we go to Hogwarts tomorrow?"

"Could I?"

"Over course. Let me message him to call home."

After checking the time, Regulus messaged Harry asking him to call when he had a moment. The phone began ringing shortly.

Harry and his housemates were walking towards the Great Hall when he received the message to call home.

"Go ahead, guys. I need to make a quick call," Harry said.

Everyone but Draco continued. Harry gave him a small smile then dialed Uncle Reggie's number.

"Hey Uncle Reg. What's up?"

"Can you speak privately?"

"On the way to dinner, but I sent the others on. It's just me and Dray."

"Let me tell you, then we can decide what to do. The soul of Tom Riddle was still in the body when we destroyed the demon. Castiel rescued him and he is now here and eleven years-old. I told him some of the things his body was used for by the demon and he thinks you will hold it against him."

"Why would he think that? Is he coming to Hogwarts? He'll need a new name."

"Thomas Evans, he is coming in the morning if you want him to, and I now know where your guilt comes from. He is what my visions told me you would be without us in your life."

"Can I speak with him?"

"Here he is."

"Hi, Harry. My name is Thomas Evans and I have been told that I am distantly your cousin on your mother's side. I just wanted to let you know how sorry I am for my part in your parent's death."

"Tom, the demon did that, not you. Stop blaming yourself. It's hard, but taking blame that is not yours to take only diminishes the fight they fought. I am sorry that we never thought to make sure you weren't being punished as well. I think we should keep your previous identity private for now, but with your permission, I would like to tell Draco, Nev, and Luna. Draco is with me now and Hogwarts will tell Luna and Nev anyway."

"That is fine. Thank you, Harry. I will see you tomorrow."

"No problem, cousin. Let Uncle Reggie I have to get to dinner before they send out search parties, but I will message him tonight. See you!"

As Harry finished the call, the chattering of Hogwarts filled his mind. He saw visions of Tom Riddle when he attended Hogwarts before. He saw how the castle protected him, but was limited in movements. He felt Hogwarts distress when she lost Tom each time and then gained him back before having to send him away for his safety. He felt her joy at Tom being able to have a new start. His last thought before loosing consciousness was that Dumbles could not be allowed to harm his cousin again.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Remus Lupin was at a loss of how to spend his time now that Harry had returned to Britain. He still had his duties to perform for House Potter, but it had been decided that returning to the world he came from was too dangerous for the werewolf. He would be able to stay in touch with the use of cell phones and emails, but it was strange to be truly alone for the first time since he met James and Sirius when he was eleven. There had been times when he had been separated from the others, but he had never felt so alone.

Remus had hoped that when the school term began and John returned to America, he would alleviate some of the tension, but after he had been home for several days, Bobby had called and needed help. With the full moon so close, Remus was not able to join in, but if things were not settled when he had recovered he would be able to join them.

The night of the full moon, Moony was restless, even with the Wolfsbane potion. For the past ten years, his cubs had been near, even when they were not in the same room. The last two since the kids had left had been bad, but tonight it was almost as if something was calling him. He took his potion and sat down to wait for the transformation to happen. The wards around Black Vineyard had been altered to allow Moony room to run but keep him in the area closest to the houses. When he exited the house, he felt someone watching him. He slowly moved to where he felt the presence and smelled another wolf. He began tracking immediately. He was registered with Magical America which supplied his potion now that Severus was back at Hogwarts, but he was unaware of another wolf in the area. After searching the warded area, he decided to return to the house. He would contact the authorities as soon as he was able to speak. Moony turned on the television using the remote with his paw and curled up in front of the fireplace to wait for the morning to come.

Classes resumed at Hogwarts the middle of September. Dumbledore was on his best behavior for the time being and accepted the changes that the board had brought forth with very little difficulty. He had little choice in the matter. The board had decided that the teachers who were on probation would be randomly observed over the term and decisions made as to their status over Yule break. The house elves were still ignoring his request and orders, but he was able to access his office once again. He hoped that he had not missed Fawkes burning day. Fawkes had been absent quite a bit lately which just showed Dumbledore that he needed to place tighter restrictions on the phoenix. Dumbledore did not notice that the ash on Fawkes perch was not phoenix ash, but had been replaced by the house elves with ground fireplace ash.

Dumbledore mused as he began placing the spells on Fawkes' ash to control him about how he would soon be able to do much the same with Harry Potter. He had already changed the paperwork to stop reflecting Severus as his parent at both Hogwarts and the Ministry and hopefully Severus would not have proof to have it changed back. His plans to have Sirius Black placed in Azkaban were he belonged were coming along nicely, but he would need to be more careful with his plans for Severus. Severus would need to die.

Severus Snape had never been a patient man. Although he had mellowed with his time in America, his patience only extended to those whom he called family. Right now, Poppy Pomphrey was testing his limits. Harry had been found outside the Great Hall after the evening meal and the blasted woman would not tell him a thing. The fact that Dumbles had altered Harry's records to show Severus as persona non grata was part of the problem, but that woman knew that he was Harry's Head of House, so that should allow him to find out his son's status. Currently, he was waiting for Arcturus to arrive and demand answers. While he waited, he continued to pace.

After a wait that seemed hours rather than the minutes it truly was, the doors to the infirmary burst open in a grand manner and the allies of Harridan Severus James Potter Prince appeared en masse. Leading the group were Lord Black, Lord Dobbyn, Lord Gringott, and Lord Lovegood. Severus smirked as Arcturus drew himself up to his full height and glared at the mediwitch.

"I wish to know the condition of Heir Black," he stated in a tone that made even Severus flinch.

"How dare you enter this wing and begin making demands. You have no right to make demands of me. I don't even know who you are referring to," Madame Pomphrey said in a haughty voice.

"Harridan Prince, woman. Tell me now."

The doors to the infirmary opened once again to admit several Aurors.

"The only patient that I currently have is Harry Potter and as I told Severus before you arrived, his magical guardian has stated that no one is to be notified of his condition," Madame Pomphrey replied.

Arcturus removed a folder from his robes and passed it to Madame Bones.

"Lady Bones, will you verify that the documents in this folder are originals and have not been tampered with?"

Amelia nodded and cast several spells to verify the documents. She agreed that the documents were real. Arcturus received the folder back and then passed it to Lord Gringott, who repeated the tests, as did Lord Dobbyn.

"Harridan Severus James Potter Prince with various titles and rankings has no magical guardian because he has a living parent. If his father is unable to perform his duties, then his guardianship is transferred to the House of the highest rank that he is Heir to. Whomever is claiming to be his guardian is lying, Madame. Please inform his father of his condition before I have you arrested for endangering the welfare of the Heir to several Most Ancient and Most Noble Houses!"

Madame Pomphrey glanced over the documents in the folder before passing a sheet of parchment to Lady Bones.

"This document grants Albus Dumbledore magical guardianship of Harry Potter. It is signed by James and Lily Potter as the legal signature," Amelia said, stifling a laugh.

"So it is a forgery?" Severus asked quietly.

Amelia waved her wand over the document and sighed. "No it is not. Apparently, someone somewhere is called James and Lily Potter and they have a son named Harry Potter, but we know that it is not Harridan since his birth name is wrong and Lily's name is incorrect as well."

Madame Pomphrey stood up looking vindicated. "Please leave my infirmary. I will not be telling you anything because of the orders of his magical guardian."

"Oh but you are wrong, Madame, very wrong. You cannot tell us the status of Harry Potter wherever he is, but you will be telling us the status of Harridan Prince, who is lying in that bed right there," Arcturus said smugly.

The pop of a house elf entering drew all of their attention.

"Kreature is here, Master Harry With Too Many Last Names. Don't worry, Kreature will make the bad potions go away. Master Lord Black says Kreature is to protect Master Harry With Too Many Last Names, bes his elf, and Kreature is a good elf," Kreature muttered while standing over Harry's body.

Madame Pomphrey approached the bed to check on her patient and remove the elf from the infirmary, but Kreature gave a small nod to Severus, snapped his fingers, and with a pop, he and Harry were gone.

The imprint of Salazar Slytherin watched the events in the infirmary with a bit of glee. His Heir had gathered many powerful allies. While the others argued, Sal opened his connection to Hogwarts and through that connection, connected with his Heir. He would be able to follow him anywhere, even outside of Hogwarts, for a short time. He was startled by the house elf popping away with young Harridan, but soon he felt his location and quickly followed after. He was surprised to find another relative in the house that they had arrived to, but that was something to investigate later. Right now Harridan needed him.

Sal became visible and approached the elf who was still standing over Harridan.

"Elf, how are you called?"

"I is Kreature. Stay back, you is not hurting Kreature's Master."

"No, Kreature. I would never harm my Heir. Harridan needs my help and I need your assistance to help him. Will you help me help Harridan?"

"Kreature help Master Harry With Too Many Last Names. Master is fighting the bad potions, but his rings is missing. Can yous be helping fight?"

"I need to examine him and see what we need to do first."

"Kreature fetch Bad Master Mutt to help too?"

"Yes and there is a child here? I felt him when I arrived. Bring him too."

Kreature left to get Sirius and Thomas. Sal cast several diagnostic spells and noticed that several of the potions were interacting with one another. The boy would need to have hi system purged before the interaction killed him. He cast a final spell that would list each potion in his system as well as the length of time since it was given to him. It seemed that part of the problem was Harridan's ring had kept the potions delivered while he was wearing it from having any effect, but when the ring was removed and he was given the last set of potions, they interacted with the ones already in his system.

"Who are you and what are you doing to my godson?" Sirius demanded when he entered the room.

"Salazar Slytherin and I need your assistance to save the life of my Heir. Kreature the elf removed him from Hogwarts and while I was able to follow him, I do not have the strength here to become corporal. I need all of you to be my hands. I need a purge potion, blood replenishing potion, and pain potions. Do you have any of these or should I send Kreature to the child's father to retrieve them?"

When Sal finished speaking, the room burst into a flurry of movement. Sirius ran to retrieve potions while Thomas and Kreature stood ready to assist in any way possible. Sal directed Kreature to begin administering the purge potion to Harry one dropper full per minute before turning to Thomas.

"Thomas, I need your help. Place both of your hand on either side of young Harridan's head and concentrate on your love for the new family you have now become part of. Think about how you felt when you spoke with Harridan earlier and the hope you have to make this new life you have been offered better than the last one that was stolen from you. Do you wish to aid your Head of House in the same way he wishes to aid you?" Tom shook his head yes and did as he was asked.

Once Tom began and Sal was confidant in the link that was forming between the two children of his line, he turned to Sirius and asked him to summon the rest of the family.

Over twenty-four hours passed before the ritual that Sal directed had been completed. Harry had been purged of several love potions along with loyalty potions and magical suppression potions. The ritual strengthened the bonds between those who Harry claimed as family whether there was a close blood connection or not. The magical signature that was keyed to the loyalty and suppression potions was Albus Dumbledore's and the love potions were keyed to Miss Ginevra Weasley. Once that information was passed along, Lord Black and Lord Lovegood left Black Manor heading in very separate directions.

Xeno Lovegood apparated to the edge of the wards at The Burrow, home of Arthur Weasley's family. He had just stepped past the edge when he was joined by a furious looking Septimus Weasley, Arthur's father. Septimus nodded to Xeno and made a motion for him to join. The two men strode purposely towards the cottage that had been added to several times over the years.

"Arthur, get out here, now," Septimus growled when they reached the door to the cottage.

Molly Weasley opened the door in a huff. She looked at the two men, then shut the door in their faces. Septimus pulled his wand and with a wordless spell, shattered the door before stomping into the house.

"WHERE IS MY SON?" Septimus yelled upon entering the house. He looked around and noticed his granddaughter and two oldest grandsons at the dining table with their mother pacing in the kitchen.

"Grandfather," Bill, his oldest grandson answered, "Dad is still at work. Is everything okay?"

"Bill, call your father and have him come home immediately. He has much to answer for," Septimus responded coldly.

After only a few moments, Bill returned to the dining room with his father following close behind.

"Father, has something happened?" Arthur asked as he saw the state the man was in. He noticed that Lord Lovegood was standing by the door. "Lord Lovegood, please come in and make yourself at home. What can I and my family do for you today?" he greeted with a smile.

"Arthur, we seem to have a problem that you may be able to help with," Xeno began but was interrupted by Septimus.

"You and your wife have placed your mother and I in a huge predicament. I hope to the gods, both old and new, that you have a good explanation," Septimus roared.

"Molly, come here dearest," Arthur called.

"I will not be accused in my own house, Arthur. These heathens burst in here and began yelling and scaring poor Ginny," Molly said with tears glistening.

"We have just spent the last twenty-four hours attempting to save the life of a child from potions overdose so bad that purge potions would not work. The child was under four love potions keyed to your daughter and two loyalty potions keyed to the Weasley family and at least seven doses keyed to the Dumbledore family. To top things off, he was given enough magic suppression potion to block all of his magic. The child is lucky that his house elf is overprotective and removed him from Hogwarts before any more could be done to him. If you are involved or even knew about this, you will be luck to survive this day, and there is nothing I can, no there is nothing I will do to protect you," Septimus stated firmly.

Arthur, Bill, and Charlie looked devastated that someone would harm a child in this manner. Molly, however, looked defiant.

"I had hoped that this was all some mistake," Xeno stated calmly. "Pandora always thought highly of you and Molly, Arthur, but she would be livid to know that the rumors about Molly were true."

"Albus promised Harry to Ginny," Molly began her excuses. "You have no right to him, Lovegood. Your freak of a daughter is not better than my Ginny. Albus promised." Molly broke down in tears.

"Mummy, is my Harry Potter still coming for me? Did the potion make him forget that freak, Looney yet?" the girl asked quietly.

When Septimus noticed that Arthur still looked clueless, he explained that for years there had been rumors that Molly controlled Arthur with love potions and loyalty potions. Over the years she had pushed for Arthur to become Head of the family, but since Ronald had been born, she had been pushing for him to become the Heir to the Weasley family. There had also been rumors that not all of Arthur's children were actually his. When the explanations were complete, Bill suggested that they contact Gringott's for heritage tests and to be purged at St. Mungo's. Within an hour, the children at Hogwarts had been sent home and the Goblins had arrived to perform the tests, with a mediwitch from St. Mungo's with purge potions for each family member.

The results were shocking. Bill and Charlie were Arthur's children. Percy, Fred, and George belonged to Arthur's younger brother, Billus, and Ronald and Ginny belonged to Albus Dumbledore. Because Billus had been killed several years' prior in a pub brawl, Percy and the twins would be allowed to stay with Arthur or change to the custody of their grandparents. The twins felt that Arthur was their dad no matter who their father was and chose to stay with him, but Percy had always felt that he didn't fit with the others and chose to move to his grandparent's house. Arthur had several love potions in his system and it was likely that he had been dosed with them for the entirety of his marriage. The children were thankfully clear. Molly was arrested on charges of line theft and brewing illegal potions. House Black and House Lovegood would add to those charges at a later time. Since Ronald and Ginny had not known of the deception, they would be given their belongings and sent to the Dumbledore family. Xeno hated that House Weasley had been harmed, but he would not allow an attack on his House to go unpunished, and Harridan Potter Prince was very much a member of his House.

Lord Arcturus Black did not apparate directly to Hogwarts even though he truly wanted to. He instead went to the DMLE and to Rufus Scrimgeour. The man was not as high ranking in the Auror ranks as he would have liked, but the man had been Slytherin. Rufus would understand the necessity of dealing with this swiftly and without interference. Arcturus waited while the man at the intake desk called Rufus to the desk. Rufus appeared a few minutes later and showed Lord Black to a private interview room.

After placing several privacy charms, he greeted him, "Lord Black, how may I assist you today?"

"I seek justice for crimes against the Heir of House Black. Heir Black's family and allies wish to handle matters with the aid of the DMLE, but we are willing to issue a blood feud if the matter is not handled promptly. I have documentation from both the Goblin Nation and the ritual we performed to save the life of Heir Black," Arcturus passed two sheets of parchment to Rufus, noticing that the man had turned white.

Rufus looked over the documents and smiled evilly when he read who the potions were keyed to. He pulled a small notebook from the inside pocket of his outer robes and began to make notes. After he had read the documents twice, he took a deep breath before speaking.

"Will the charges be for crimes against Heir Black or for crimes against Harry Potter et al? Depending on how we file the complaint, we can add multiple charges for each House he heads and each House he is Heir to. House Lovegood can also bring charges for tampering with a betrothal contract. Do you want them arrested today and then file, or do you want to file before we make the arrests?"

"Lord Lovegood is, I am sure, dealing with the Weasley issue if Lord Weasley does not take care of matters before he can arrive. I want that man away from Hogwarts today! In fact, we should go there now before Lord Prince is able to return. Or the younger generation of Black's for that matter. Hurry along now Auror Scrimgeour, we don't want to miss any of the fun," Arcturus said with a smirk.

Rufus Scrimgeour quickly gathered a team that he would be able to trust. He selected Aurors that had been Slytherin House at Hogwarts or those who had not attended at all. These were the ones that he knew would be least likely to be overly impressed by Albus Dumbledore. It took an hour to gather them, but the group left the Ministry by portkey and were met at the gates of Hogwarts by a group of Blacks, Malfoys, and an angry Lord Prince. They were soon joined with several Weasley members and Lord Lovegood. The various children from both the first group and the second groups looked sad and subdued, but two dark haired boys and one white blonde boy looked resigned and determined. The group slowly made their way to the castle, but were stopped by a house elf before they made it to the entry hall.

"Master Harry, I be Took. I work at Hospital Wing. I be bringing Master Harry his rings. Bad Dumbles used a spell to take them and spelled Madame to give Master Harry bad potions. I called Kreature, but he left with Master Harry before I could give back his rings." Took finished and began pulling his large ears in distress.

"Took, Kreature was very worried for me. Grandpa Artie and Uncle Reggie told him to protect me and when he found out I was sick, he got a little overprotective. Thank you for keeping my rings safe for me," Harry told the house elf soothingly. The boy placed the rings back on his finger and they rejoined quickly. Lord Black quickly cast a spell to make the rings removable only to Harry's Heirs, even in death. Harry no longer could remove them, so the threat of removal under curse was no longer an option.

Took smiled and bowed before popping away. The group continued their journey to the castle, smiling that Harry was a bit safer now.

 **A/N: I am so sorry about the delay in getting this chapter out. RL has been a bit of a bitch lately, and I had a bit of writers block on top. Hopefully, I will be able to stay on schedule again. Next time, the fallout of Albus' actions and the trials of the Ravenclaw girls.**


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

In the Great Hall of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry on a morning in late September of 1991, the current staff of the school watched over the students in attendance. Missing from the staff table were most of the newest staff members, but that was nothing unusual because they often broke their fast together in one of their suites of room. The only member of the group that had invaded Hogwarts and began to make changes was Joyce Summers-Black. Minerva McGonagall looked out at the students and noticed that several were missing. Madame Summers-Black's four children and the sons of Lord Winchester along with the Potter twins, the Dursley boy, the Longbottom Heir, and the Malfoy Heir had not arrived to breakfast. The Lovegood Heir was missing, but that was understandable due to her relationship with Harry Potter. Since the Potter boy had been injured, the girl had been in hiding. Apparently, she was afraid that without her protector she would be held accountable for her actions. Minerva would be doing so at her soonest opportunity. She was secretly grateful that Severus was missing this morning. She could not believe that he had the gall to disrespect the name of some of her favorite student, James and Lily, and claim their child was his as well. The nerve of that man. Her attention was drawn by a noise at the doors. At that moment, the doors burst open and a diverse group of more than twenty adults and fourteen children. That was the moment that all hell broke loose.

"Madame Poppy Pomphrey, you are under arrest for the attempted murder of Heir Black with additional charges pending. Aurors, hold the accused for trial," Rufus Scrimgeour stated in the silence that followed their entrance to the Great Hall.

"Albus Dumbledore, you are hereby under arrest for the attempted murder of the Heir Black as well as several other charges. Will you come peacefully, or shall I give a listing of the charges in full?

Albus Dumbledore rose to his full height and looked around the Great Hall with distaste. He had two choices. First, he could go with Scrimgeour and his plans come to an end, but that would cause him to be punished and abandoned by his powerful allies. Second, he could fight his way out and possibly kill the boy since he had no hope of controlling him. That might work well. He called for Fawkes and began firing spells at the children while he waited for the bird to arrive.

Green tinged domes popped into existence around all of the children except Harry, Neville, and Luna. Neville and Harry held tightly to Luna's hands and focused on Hogwarts, and began chanting in Old English. The words were a simple chant: "Amundae carseld", but the love and hope behind the words created a strong protection that even Dumbledore could not damage. With an unspoken cue, the chant changed to "Amundae cneorissa" when Dumbledore's wand moved from the group of children to the group of adults. As the green light of the killing curse flew from Dumbledore's wand towards Severus, the other children joined hands and picked up the chant. Harry's free hand rose and called Dumbledore's wand. The wand landed in Harry's hand and Dumbledore ran from the room in the confusion of the blocked killing curse. All eyes turned to the eleven year-old who had unarmed the strongest wizard in recent history to see him grin broadly before once more hitting the ground.

Flashback: July 31, 1985

The joint fifth birthday party of Neville and Harry had just finished and the two boys were saying goodbye to their guests. Once the last guest had left, Bella gathered the two boys and led them to the sitting room where Regulus, Dobbyn, and Griphook had gathered. Harry noticed that there were five objects laying on the table in front of the three men.

"Please have a seat," Regulus asked the boys when they entered. "We have a story to tell you."

"As you know, the Wizarding World in Europe has been plagued with Dark Lords throughout its history. The most recent declared Dark Lord was Voldemort, who was the tool who killed James Potter, Lily Potter-Snape, and Frank Longbottom. His story was a sad one. His birth name was Tom Riddle, Jr. and he was the son of a witch of the Gaunt line, who was very weak due to the family's habit of marrying cousins to keep the line 'pure' and a mundane Lord who lived in the village near her home. Merope Gaunt became obsessed with the young lord and began to feed him love potions when they were in their late teens, finally marrying the man. Her father and brother were both sent to prison for attacking mundanes in the village and Merope convinced that Tom loved her, stopped giving him the love potions once she became pregnant. He left her, not knowing that she was with child, and had the marriage annulled. When she found out that her brother would be released from prison when she was in her eight month, she fled to London, determined for her child to be born healthy. Because she knew nothing of the mundane world, she fell ill from living on the streets. A police officer found her and took her to an orphanage just before Tom was born. She died from a bleed, but was able to hold her son once and name him. She named him after his father and her own father before she died. Tom grew up in that same orphanage. His first several years were good, although he was never adopted, but when the new Matron took over, his life became hell." Regulus paused to make sure that the two young boys were still paying attention.

"Tom was bullied and beaten from that point on. He discovered that he had powers, and began to harness them to be able to protect himself, but it made things worse. Not only was he bullied, but now the other children began to call him 'freak'. On his eleventh birthday, Albus Dumbledore arrived at the orphanage to bring him his Hogwarts letter. Unfortunately for Tom, Albus heard him speaking with a snake, his only friend, and labeled the boy as dark before even speaking with him. Tom arrived at Hogwarts and did very well for himself in Slytherin House. He was a bright, kind, and friendly child who made friends with the other children quite easily. At some point during his Hogwarts years, Tom discovered that his mother had been of the Gaunt line and was an Heir of Slytherin. This made Dumbles even less trusting. At some point during his fifth year, he began to change. He used his influence and power to speak against the policies about mundane born of the Ministry. He advocated the return to the Old Ways and the sponsorship of mundane born children by those in the Wizarding World. He wanted to make sure that no other child would be abused and called freak by their caregivers. He was Head Boy in his final year and upon leaving Hogwarts he began rallying those who would believe in his cause to aid him. Then Tom Riddle disappeared. He returned in the early 1960s and was no longer the same charismatic man who supported the rights of all magicals. He now spoke of pureblood supremacy. He began marking his followers and began to wage war against the world. He was increasingly unstable. In 1979, I discovered the reason for his instability. He had created horocrux. He made six prior to Samhain 1981. The night he was destroyed, he attempted to create another, but failed and the three of us used that opportunity to destroy him and his horocrux. That night we discovered that Tom Riddle had been possessed by a demon at some point in his history and that the demon was the one responsible for the damage done to our world. These items before you are the containers that the demon used to hold his horocrux. By right of conquest, they now belong to you, Harry."

"I understand why Harry is here, but why am I here?" Neville asked.

"Because of a prophesy. I will tell you the one that was given to Voldemort, then tell you the true prophesy. I will answer your questions after that. Voldemort was told a fragment of a false prophesy, 'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches. Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…'. The prophesy that your parents were told was 'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches. Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies… and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not… and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives… the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies.' The true prophesy states: 'The one with the power to destroy the Dark One who hides in the Light approaches. Born of the Father that has defied the Demon trice, claimed by the Father that defied the Demon trice, protected by the Mother who bound the three. If the Dark One is destroyed by this child, Peace and Harmony will reign, but if the Dark One succeeds, the World will end. The Heir of the Loyal will call him friend and the Heir of the Wise will call him Mate. The Slayer will protect him and He shall protect her. The sons of the Hunter will play their part, but the Child and the Slayer will save them. The Mouth of Hell unites the three while the Halls of Magic unites the three and the One unspoken of both worlds combines them all.' Both you and Harry are spoken of in this true prophesy and that is why you are both here. Harry is the marked one in the fake one and the one described in the beginning of the true one. Neville, you could have been the one from the fake, but Voldemort chose Harry instead, but you are the Heir of the Loyal. Neville, you are the Heir of Hufflepuff. Now do either of you have any questions?"

Flashback July 31st, 1991

"Harry, I have something that belonged to your other father that I think you might need once we arrive at Hogwarts," Severus told his child.

Harry opened the package and pulled out a cloak. This cloak was not an ordinary cloak, but an invisibility cloak.

"I want you to keep it near you at all times. It might save you or it might save the life of one that you love. James was given it by his father on his birthday before he entered Hogwarts, and it was given to countless generations of Potters in the same manner before him. I felt that you should be given it the same way."

Present

Harry looked down at his body lying on the floor and watched as his friends and family ran to him. He looked around the Great Hall and saw a cloaked figure watching him. He could not see the figure's face, but he seemed to see green eyes staring at him from the hood of the cloak. After a few moments, the figure gave him a small bow and hissed "Master."

"Who are you? Why am I out of my body?" Harry asked in a puzzled voice.

"I am Death. We can only meet when you are out of body because I can only interact with the soul. You have joined the Hallows to one owner again and thus you control me. I see the dislike in your eyes, young Master. You will be a grand Master, for you do not wish to be a Master at all. If you will allow me to continue to do my duty, I shall not act outside of those duties without your leave. If you attempt to ban me from my duty, I will fight you every step of the way. I could never imagine having an eleven year-old be the Master of Death, but I can see great possibilities. Lucifer will have a fit, but it will be greatly entertaining. Remember that the Four Horsemen cannot ride without Death and Death will not ride without his Master's leave."

"So you continue to do whatever you do as Death and if anything strange comes up, you ask me before you react? Simple as that? I don't have to oversee anything or kill anything?"

"No Master Harry, you have no duties as long as you leave me free to do my own duties. If you try to control my duties, such as who dies and who lives, then you would have additional responsibilities, but as of now, you have none. Before you ask, your friends are safe for the next several years, at least until you finish your time at Hogwarts. There will be danger, but all of you are safe until your training is complete."

"Thank you, sir. That is a great relief. Can you warn me if one of my friends or family is in danger of death from unnatural means? I know that if, for example, Grandpa Artie dies from old age, it was just his time, but if he is attacked, that is not natural and can be avoided, correct?"

"I will warn you of any of your people who come to my rolls before their natural time and allow you to change their fate, but when it is natural, you must promise not to interfere."

"I promise," Harry said with a smile.

"Before you go back, there are some people who would really like to speak with you."

A smile crossed Harry's face as he saw the four people walking from the mists towards him. Aunt Tunney looked much healthier and happier than he could remember. Next to her was Lady Pandora with a beautiful smile on her face. Behind them, walking hand in hand, were his mum and papa. He ran to the group and hugged them all.

"Mum, Papa, Aunt Tunney, Lady Pandora it is so good to see you all again. I have missed you so much. Is Grandma Black here too?" Harry asked.

"Now that you have accepted your role, we can visit you at times. Three of us have been allowed to serve as Death's messengers. We can come to you without the need for an out of body experience and give you updates on the status of Death and his realm. Your Papa is the first to visit outside of the messengers. Go with him poppet and visit. The three of us will see you often, but Papa's time is limited," Lily said with a smile.

Harry and James Potter wandered off to the head table in his dreamscape and spent the next ten minutes speaking of Harry's life. After ten minutes, Death approached them and said "It is almost time."

"Harry, remember that we are all watching over you. Others will visit you, like your Grandparents Potter and Lady Snape-Prince, who just want to know their grandson. Some will come to you to ask that messages be passed along to their loved ones, like Mary Winchester. Death has decreed that other than the messengers, we cannot contact you more than once a week, but if it gets to be too much, it will be cut back. I love you, son and am very proud of the man you are becoming." James kissed his son on the head and faded away.

"Are you ready? The messengers will be available to you anytime, just call them by name and they will appear." Harry nodded and Death placed a hand on his chest, then he was back in his body.

Harry's eyes opened and he whispered "Death's Master" before passing out.

Things at Hogwarts began to slow after the events that saw Albus Dumbledore fleeing the castle. A surprised Thomas Evans was sorted into Ravenclaw and promised his cousin Harry that he would keep an eye on Luna and Willow. The arguments that many Gryffindor students had raises against Slytherin students all being evil faded away with the actions of Dumbledore and his attack against Harry Potter. The children began to learn history that was not riddled with propaganda against the Goblin Nation and Professor Summers-Black scheduled lectures for all years from Goblins and High Elves that would be held throughout the year. The American group and some of their allies attended additional lessons with Miss Kalderash twice a week to keep their skills from waning.

All too soon it was October 14th and time for Luna and Willow to arrive at the Wizengamot for the trial of the girls who had attacked them and stolen their things. The group from Hogwarts students would consist of Luna, Willow, Harry, and Neville. The students would be joined by Joyce Summers-Black, Xeno Lovegood, Alice Longbottom, Regulus Black, Bella Black, and Arcturus Black. The group met in the entry hall of Hogwarts. Severus had been appointed as interim Headmaster by Hogwarts herself and would not be able to join the group, but he supplied them with a portkey directly to the Ministry. He hugged his son and wished him luck before the portkey went off. The group arrived and quickly made their way to the lower levels and the Chamber of the Wizengamot. Arcturus held Harry, Neville, and Luna back as the others entered the chamber. He led them to the side and began speaking softly.

"When we enter, do not speak to anyone. Walk directly to the center of the room and speak all of your titles. Neville, you first, then Luna, then Harry. Speak all of your titles, yes Harry, even the Boy-Who-Lived nonsense that these sheep believe in. I will enter just after Harry and seal the hall after the last title is spoken."

The children walked to the chamber and took a deep breath before entering. Neville stood tall and walked to the center of the room before beginning to speak.

"I am Neville Franklin Longbottom, Lord Longbottom, Lord Hufflepuff." Neville glowed briefly and a gasp was heard in the chamber. Luna quickly stepped forward and spoke.

"I am Luna Mondlicht Lovegood, Heiress Lovegood, Lady Ravenclaw." As with Neville, Luna glowed briefly and the gasp was once again heard. Harry moved forward with a slight shove from his grandfather and took a deep breath before beginning.

"I am Harridan Severus James Potter Prince, Lord Potter, Lord Slytherin, Lord Gryffindor, Lord Pervell, Heir Black, Heir Prince, the Boy-Who-Lived, Master of Death." Harry glowed and the chamber erupted into chaos. With a huge smile on his face, Arcturus Black, Lord Black sealed the Chamber of the Wizengamot with a spell and strode to the center of the room.

"For the first time in centuries, the Great Six Houses are all represented in the Chamber of the Wizengamot. The Chamber has accepted the Lords and Lady of the Great Houses and I, Lord Black, wish to welcome them before we proceed."

"But they are just children!" came the call of many members of the Wizengamot.

"The Chamber has made that a null and void point. These young Lords and Lady have fulfilled the necessary steps to claim the Heads of the vacant Great Houses or the Chamber would have not accepted them. This is our law and as members of the Wizengamot of Magical Britain, we must uphold that decision," Lucius Malfoy responded.

After a few more moments of dismay, the crowd quieted, and the new members of the Wizengamot were accepted. The meeting was called to order and after a few notices of committee meetings that had been scheduled were announced, the trials began.

"In the absence of Chief of the Wizengamot, due to his pending arrest warrant, Lord Black should be the interim Chief, but due to his relationship with the victims of the girls accused, he has recused himself from these trials and asked that we appoint someone else to ensure a fair trial. I now open the floor for nominations," Minister Fudge stated from the Chief's chair.

After ten minutes, Tiberius Ogden was appointed to serve as the Chief Judge for the trials. He once again called the meeting to order.

"I call for the accused to be brought before the Wizengamot. Three of the defendants have waived their rights for separate trials. Marietta Edgecombe, Marianne Clearwater, and Lynnette Malcom step forward to hear the charges held against you. You have all been charged with the wanton and willful destruction of the property of two students of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In addition to the destruction, you have also been accused of the intentional torment of these same two children. How do you plead?"

Marietta stepped forward first, "We plead not guilty due to extenuating circumstances. The three of us were pressured by former Headmaster Albus Dumbledore into targeting the children who were not eleven yet who were attending Hogwarts. We were told that if we failed to cause them to drop out, we would be expelled and blacklisted from all magic school in Europe. Our parents could not afford the cost of the American schools. We have discussed this with our parents and are willing to testify under truth potions appropriate to our ages and provide memories to the facts." The two first year girls agreed with her statement and Lord Ogden nodded for them to proceed. The testimony and the memories were found to support their claims, but it was found that Cho Chang was not included in any of the meetings during the summer nor had she been mentioned to any of the girls.

"Due to the nature of the threats against these three girls, Willow Black and I are willing to accept a term of probation for them. Let it be known that if that probation is violated, they will be required to serve the entire suspended sentence" Luna stated from her seat.

"Lady Ravenclaw, I will accept this compromise if it is agreed with by Willow Black's Head of House, Lord Black," Lord Ogden stated.

"I agree," Lord Black responded.

"You have been found guilty of the charges, but circumstances require leniency. You will be held on probation for the next ten years. If during that time, you break any other laws, you shall spend a term of no less than five years in the minimum security section of Azkaban Prison. You will be required to petition Hogwarts to be able to return and follow the terms of the decision. You are hereby released into the custody of your parents," Lord Ogden said calmly.

"There will be a thirty-minute break before the next trial commences," Lord Ogden announced.

The trial of Cho Chang was a complete joke. Her defense was that Harry Potter was too good for Looney Lovegood and that she was going to make sure that he never looked at the crazy bint again. No pleas for clemency were heard and Cho Chang was sentenced to five years in minimum security at Azkaban. Upon her release, she would be able to hire private tutors to achieve her O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s, but she would not have her record cleared.

Madame Chang's trial went badly as well. She had been charged with falsifying a report and attempting to defame a Lady of one of the Great Six. She had also been charged with attacking a wizard's familiar and attempt to persuade others to do the same. She was given a twenty-year sentence in medium security.

A surprise addition to the list of trials was the trial of Poppy Pomphrey. Although it was proven that she had been under the influence of charms and potions when she committed her crimes against Harry, she had still broken her healer's oath. She was sentenced to probation and her medical license revoked. She asked for her probation to be transferred to Ireland so she could live with her family and it was granted.

The group returned to Hogwarts just before the evening meal, all members exhausted from the long day. They hoped that things would begin to calm down and get back to normal.

 **A/N: Again I am late with the chapter. Life has been busy, retail at Christmas sucks. I am still not happy with this chapter and I hope that you will forgive me. Right now I cannot see me being able to update more than once per month, but I will try to get things out more quickly than that. Things, story wise, will start moving a bit faster now that Hogwarts is out of Dumbledore's control. Thanks for the support. Your reviews, follows, and favorites mean a lot to me.**


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